
CJass_fc__L_ 
Book'-ii 







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THE JADE CHAPLET 

IN TWENTY-FOUR BEADS 
A COLLECTION OF SONGS, BALLADS, &c. 



(from tlje Cijinc^e) 



BY / 

GEORGE CARTER STENT 

M.N.C.B.R.A.S. 

AUTHOR OF 'CHINESE AND ENGLISH VOCABULARY* 'CHINESE AND ENGLISH 
POCKET DICTIONARY' 'CHINESE LYRICS ' 'CHINESE LEGENDS' ETC, 



LONDON 
TRUBNER & CO., 57 & 59 LUDGATE HILL 

1874 



All rights reserved 



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11 



29508 



LONDON : PRINTED BY 

SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE 

AND PARLIAMENT STREET 




5 









PREFACE. 



Most of the songs in this collection have already appeared 
in print, but I am tempted to publish them in this form 
from the fact that the subjects must be new and strange to 
most people in England, and many of them, I feel confident, 
are novel even to foreigners in China, 

Many songs that I have translated are not even in 
Chinese print ; but I have been attracted by hearing them 
sung in the streets, made the singers come to my house and 
sing them while my teacher wrote them down verbatim ; 
this process being repeated till I was assured that they were 
correct. By this means I not only got the words of the 
song, but the air, and I fancied I could also grasp the ideas 
they conveyed. 

In regard to the translation of them, some I have 
rendered freely in whatever metre I thought would suit the 



iv Preface. 

subject ; others I have rendered almost word for word with 
the Chinese; the object in all cases being to render the idea 
in a suitable manner. Without entering more fully into 
particulars, the reader will at a glance detect the difference. 

My object has also been to embrace a variety of subjects. 
Some songs might have been omitted as inferior in language, 
thought and feeling, had the object been merely to present 
a collection of only the gems of Chinese fancy ; but having 
it rather in view to show the difference of their poetic 
subjects and styles, it seemed to me they ought to be 
included in such a collection as the present. 

I need not say that in Chinese literature there is an 
inexhaustible field for the historian, the novelist, the dram- 
atist, and the poet. Some of these departments have 
been diligently cultivated by minds fitly trained and amply 
furnished for the task ; but, so far as my knowledge goes, 
the songs of the people, redolent as they necessarily are 
of the deepest and most wide-spread tendencies of na- 
tural thought, have hitherto been comparatively neglected. 
It is also hoped that the student of popular poetry will 
here find matter worthy of his attention. Now that so 
much interest has been awakened in such subjects by the 
collections of Mr. Henderson, Mr. Wilkinson, and Mr. Coxe 
in England ; by Miss Frere and Mr. Gover in India ; by 



Preface. v 

the works of MM. Edelyi, Torok, Gyulai, and Arany in 
Hungary; by Asbjornsen's interesting stories of Norway; 
by Afansiefs numerous fables of Russia; and most espe- 
cially by the labours of Grimm, and the important contri- 
butions to this branch of literature so recently furnished by 
the learned Felix Liebrecht ; — I have felt that some real 
translations of Chinese popular song would not be without 
their value as illustrations of the mental status of an impor- 
tant section of the human family. 

With these few words of explanation, I launch my little 
volume in its strange attire on the sea of public opinion. 
It has at least the merit of being an attempt to bring the 
ideas and feelings of a distant and strange race before the 
public. If it succeeds, I shall congratulate myself on having 
had a front place among the pioneers who have opened up 
the lighter and more amusing literature of China. 

G. C. S. 

Shanghai : 6th September, 1873. 



CONTENTS. 



BEAD PAGE 

1. The Butterflies' Choice . . . i 

2. Crossing the Boundary River, or The Tatar's Bi'ide 3 



3. Farming the Grave .... 

4. The Wife Tested. Sequel to Fanning the Grave 

5. Chang-fian-fio, or Queen Mi's Devotion . 

6. Chao-tzu-lung, or The "All Pluck" General 

7. Adventures of '" Tiny Rill" 

8. The Chain Puzzle .... 

9. The Enchajited Tree .... 

10. The Twelve Months Many Stories . 

11. Crossing the Ferry, or Pickaback Love . 

12. Jen-kuei's Return. {A Play) 

13. The Great Water-Melon . . . 



6 
11 

22 
36 
4* 
46 

49 
5i 

62 

72 

"3 



viii Contents. 



BEAI 




PAGE 


14. 


•SVww in Slimmer . . • . 


115 


15. 


Chang-Hang's Flute, or Home-sickness . 


117 


16. 


Yang-kuei-fei ..... 


120 


17. 


An Imperial Lover .... 


125 


18. 


Silken Meshes ..... 


128 


19. 


Dream-Music ..... 


130 


20. 


7#£ Death of Yang-kuei-fei . 


133 


21. 


7%£ Grave of Yang-kuei-fei 


• 139 


22. 


The Azalea 


142 


23. 


The Five Watches .... 


160 


24. 


The Dagger ..... 


165 



THE 

JADE CHAPLET. 

THE BUTTERFLIES' CHOICE} 

Whom shall I choose from this bevy of fairies? 

Who shall be queen of " all under the sun ? " 
'Mid such charms I'm bewildered ; — my choice ever varies, 

Where all are so lovely, 'tis hard to choose one. 

The fairest, the freshest of flowers bring hither, 

With the dew on their petals like glistening pearls ; 

Blend their hues and arrange them with care ere they wither, 
Spray by spray in the hair of these ravishing girls. 

1 The Emperor Ming, of the T'ang dynasty, used to cause the 
ladies of the palace to place fresh flowers in their hair, and at his 
signal attendant eunuchs would free a number of butterflies they had 
previously caught. The fortunate lady on whose head most butterflies 
alighted, attracted by the blossoms, was selected by the Emperor as 
his favourite. This was called Tieh-hsing, " Butterfly fortune," or 
"Butterfly luck." 



2 The Jade Chaplet. 

Butterflies of all colours, the gayest — the brightest, 
Rainbow-tinted — bespangled, — likewise hither bring ; 

Let the thrall of the captives be one of the lightest ; 
Displace not the bloom of one azure-tipped wing. 

Now, watch me, and mark, when I hold up my finger, 
Let their gauzy wings once more in freedom rejoice ; 

" On whose head the butterflies love most to linger , 
" That girl shall be queen — she's the butterflies' choice." 



CROSSING THE BOUNDARY RIVER} 

With quivering lip she bade her guard farewell — 
Her pride sustained her or she would have wept — 

" You've served me thus far faithfully and well, 
" Go ! tell your lord his promise has been kept" 

1 Wang-chao-chiin was one of the ladies of the palace in the time 
of the Emperor Yuan, of the 'Han dynasty. This monarch was so 
voluptuous, and had so many ladies that he would not put himself 
to the trouble of seeing the whole of them personally, but ordered an 
artist, named Mao-yens hou, to paint each of their portraits so that he 
could inspect them at leisure in his own apartments. 

All the ladies bribed the painter to induce him to produce flattering 
portraits, except Wang-chao-chiin who, knowing that she was beautiful 
and needed no adventitious aid to enhance her charms, depended on 
them alone, and declined to solicit any favour from the artist. This 
annoyed the painter so much, that he portrayed such a plain face on his 
canvas, instead of her own beautiful one, that the Emperor, on inspecting 
it, tossed it aside with contempt, and thinking her the ugliest lady in 
the palace, promised her in marriage to the chief of a Tatar tribe with 
whom he had recently been at war, and whom he now wished to con- 
ciliate. When she came to take leave of the Emperor previous to 
starting on her journey, he was struck with her extraordinary beauty, 
and perceiving that he had been duped by the painter, ordered him to 
be at once beheaded. 



4 The Jade Chaplet. 

They quit her side — and, oh ! how wistfully 
She watches them the gloomy bastions near ; 

The gates unclose, her pained eyes plainly see 
Them enter, one by one, — and disappear. 

That cruel wall l shuts out her native land, 

Her home — loved kindred — every lovely scene : 

The meanest soldier of her little band 
If not a friend — a countryman had been. 

Alone — with strangers — (for a Tatar horde, 

Equipped with bow and spear, looked scowling on ;) 

*S7^\ was the destined bride of their grim lord, 
They were her escort, now her own had gone. 

Now, smitten by her charms, he was sorry he had promised her to 
the Tatar Chief, and would gladly have retained her himself, but that 
his honour had been pledged, and he feared another rupture with the 
Tatars. He reluctantly parted with her, and she was escorted by a 
body of Chinese soldiers to the frontiers, where she was received by a 
troop of Tatars. The Emperor had kept his word ; she had been 
safely handed over to the Chief. But she herself, having performed her 
duty till she stepped on to another soil, had no intention of becoming 
the bride of a barbarian chief. On arriving at the "Black River," 
with a cry, she plunged into it, and the body of the poor girl was 
borne away on its dark waters, in presence of the Chief and his astounded 
followers, who were powerless to save her. 

1 The Great Wall. 



Crossing the Boundary River. 

What were her thoughts she kept within her breast, 
Her grief — her anguish, was "not loud but deep;" 

The rising tear she stubbornly suppressed, 
They should not see a Chinese maiden weep. 

" Be his bride — his — 'twere better far to die ! 

"Life would be death — this wild my living grave." 
With hands upraised — with one despairing cry, 

She plunged into the Amoor's turbid wave. 



The Jade Chaplet. 



FANNING THE GRAVE} 

Twas spring, — the air was redolent 
With many a sweet and grateful scent ; 
The peach and plum bloomed side by side, 
Like blushing maid and pale-faced bride ; 2 
Coy willows stealthily Were seen 
Opening their eyes of living green, — 
As if to watch the sturdy strife, 
Of nature struggling into life. 

1 ' ' Fanning the Grave " and its sequel ' ' The Wife Tested " have 
appeared in print before, but as they have been written only in prose 
and rather as anecdotes than translations, and have, in my opinion, but 
inadequately expressed the grim humour conveyed in the original, I 
have thought it not inappropriate to include the metrical version in this 
collection. The real name of the song is "The Butterflies' Dream," 
but I have preferred separating it into two parts and naming them as 
above. 

2 Among many other poetical names in novels, &c. , wives are often 
called "Plum-blossoms," concubines "Peach-blossoms," and hand- 
maidens "Willow-branches." 



Fanning the Grave. 

One sunny morn a Mr. Chuang 

Was strolling leisurely along ; 

Viewing the budding flowers and trees — 

Sniffing the fragrance-laden breeze — 

Staring at those who hurried by, 

Each loaded with a good supply 

Of imitation sycee shoes, 

To burn — for friends defunct to use — 

Of dainty viands, oil and rice, 

And wine to pour in sacrifice, 

On tombs of friends who 'neath them slept. 

(Twas "3rd of the 3rd" when the graves are swept.) 

Chuang sauntered on : — at length on looking round, 

He spied a cosy-looking burial ground ; 

" I'll turn in here and rest a bit," thought he, 

"And muse awhile on life's uncertainty ; 

This quiet place just suits my pensive mood, 

I'll sit and moralise in pleasant solitude." 

So sitting down upon a grassy knoll, 

He sighed — when all at once upon him stole 

A smothered sound of sorrow and distress, 

As if one wept in very bitterness. 



8 The Jade Chap let. 

Mr. Chuang, hearing this, at once got up to see, 
Who the sorrowing mourner could possibly be, 

When he saw a young woman fanning a grave. 
Her " three inch gold lilies " l were bandaged up tight, 
In the deepest of mourning — her clothes too were white. 2 
Of all the strange things he had read of or heard, 
This one was by far the most strange and absurd ; 

He had never heard tell of one fanning a grave. 

He stood looking on at this queer scene of woe, 
Unobserved, — but astounded, and curious to know 

The reason the woman was fanning the grave. 
He thought, in this case, the best thing he could do 
Was to ask her himself— so without more ado, 
He hemmed once or twice — then bowing his head, 
Advanced to the woman and smilingly said : 

"May I ask, Madam, why you axe fanning that gravel" 

The woman, on this, glancing up with surprise, 
Looked as though she could scarcely believe her own eyes, 
When she saw a man watching her fanning the grave. 

1 Small-feet. 

2 White is the colour worn as mourning in China, as black is in 
England. 



Fanning the Grave. c 

He was handsome, — and might have been thirty or more ; 
The garb of a Taoist he tastefully wore ; 
His kind manner soon put her quite at her ease, 
So she answered demurely, " Listen, Sir, if you please, 
And I'll tell you the reason I'm fanning this grave. 

" My husband, alas ! whom I now {sob, sob) mourn, 
A short time since {sob) to this grave {sob) was borne ; 

And {sob) he lies buried in this {sob, sob) grave." 
(Here she bitterly wept.) " Ere my {sob) husband died, 
He called me {sob) once more {sob, sob) to his side, 
And grasping my {sob), — with his dying lips said, 
' When I'm gone {sob, sob) promise {sob) never to wed, 

Till the mould is {sob) dry on the. top of my grave? 

" I come hither daily to {sob) and to weep, 
For the promise I gave {sob) I'll faithfully keep, 

I'll not wed till the mould is {sob) dry on his grave. 
I don't want to marry again {sob) I'm sure, 
But poverty {sob) is so hard to endure, 
And, oh ! I'm so lonely, that I come {sob) to try 
If I can't with my fan help the mould {sob) to dry ; 

And that is the reason Tmfanniiig his graved 



io The Jade Chaplet. 

Hearing this, Chuang exclaimed, " Madam, give me the fan. 
I'll willingly help you as much as I can 

In drying the mould on your poor husband's grave." 
She readily handed the fan up to Chuang, 
(Who in magic was skilled, — as he proved before long) 
For he muttered some words in a low under-tone, 
Flicked the fan, and the grave was as dry as a bone ; 

"There," said he, "the mould's dry on the top of the 
grave." 

Joy plainly was seen on the poor woman's face, 
As she hastily thanked him — ere quitting the place, 

For helping her dry up the mould on the grave. 
Chuang watched her go off with a cynical sigh, 
Thought he, " Now suppose I myself were to die, 
How long would my wife in her weeds mourn my fate ? 
Would she, like this woman, have patience to wait 

Till the mould was well dry on her poor husband's 
grave ? " 



1 1 



THE WIFE TESTED. 

(SEQUEL TO "FANNING THE GRAVE.") 

On this curious grave-fanning scene 
Chuang pondered as homeward he strolled ; 
At once told his wife where he'd been, 
And the morning's adventure too told. 
His wife, when the tale she had heard, 
Screwed her brows up, and lengthened her face ; 
<: That woman," said she — " 'pon my word ! 
Beats all that is wicked and base ! " 

" Oh," said Chuang, " what is it to us 

If she chooses to marry again ? 

Don't let this talk worry you thus, 

Or cause you a moment of pain. 

What may happen there's no one can tell, — 

But / should quite satisfied be 

Were you to do equally well, 

If anything happened to me." 



1 2 The Jade Chap let. 

His wife cried, " I'd have you to know 
That my family bears a good name ; 
Do you think I could sink down so low 
As to stain it by falsehood or shame ? 
Should you, alas, from me be torn, 
. Could I ever another one love ? 
Till death I'd your memory mourn, 
If I lie, there's a Heaven above ! " 

As 'twas said once before, 

Chuang in magical lore 
Was skilled, — so he thought he would test her ; 

And with consummate skill, 

He feigned to be ill : 
In lugubrious tones thus addressed her : — 

" My love, smooth that brow, — 

Let us have no more row, 
What I just said was only in frolic ; 

But, oh ! (here he winced,) 

Ai ya ! I'm convinced 
I've got a slight touch of the colic." 

He groaned himself hoarse — 
His wife too, of course, 
As in duty bound, burst out a crying ; 



The Wife Tested. 13 

" Fetch a doctor, my dear,- 
For I feel deuced queer ; 
I'm blest, if I don't think I'm dying ! " 

She went off in a crack, 

And a doctor brought back : 
They found poor Chuang kicking and sprawling ; 

As he writhed on the floor, 

Sweat streamed from each pore, 
And his groans they were truly appalling. 

Bolus looked at the case, — 

Pulled a very long face, — 
Said he — while a strong draught he. gave him, 

" Let me do what I will, 

He's beyond earthly skill, 
All the drugs in the world wouldn't save him." 

Chuang, at this rolled his eyes — 

And his wife's bitter cries 
When she heard it were truly heart-rending ; 

With a horrified mug 

Chuang gave a slight shrug, 
For he knew she was only pretending. 



14 The yade Chap let. 

" My dear wife," said he, 

" Come and listen to me ; 
Your grief 'tis, alas, unavailing ; 

I'm getting so weak, 

That I've scarce strength to speak ; 
I feel that I'm rapidly failing. 

" Swiftly onward death is stealing, 
Soon I quit this earthly sphere ; 

Moments fly — each one revealing 
Life is fleeting, — death is near. 

" Death remorselessly will tear me 
From all to which my fond heart clings ; 
From life — from thee — from love, will bear me 
To the gloomy 'yellow springs.' 1 

" And, oh ! when I'm dead, 

Let it never be said, 
That you suffered another to win you ! 

Your heart guard with care 

From temptation and snare, 
And true to my mem'ry continue. 



The 



grave. 



The Wife Tested. 15 

" But — should you change your mind, 

And to wed feel inclined, 
(Here he groaned, and his voice became thicker) 

The unfortunate man, 

Wed as soon as you can, — 
And the sooner you do it the quicker ! " 



" Oh ! make your mind easy," she sobbing replied, 

" I have said I won't wed, and I won't : 

But, ah ! what grave doubts your last words implied, — 

Don't say them again, dearest, don't ! 

Tales of virtuous women in old books I've read, 

And my bosom with ardour has glowed ; 

I'll emulate them, I have inwardly said : — 

If I don't do the same Fll be Mowed !" 



Chuang looked up gratified, — 
As if quite satisfied — 
Groaned deeply, — his teeth firmly gritted ; 
Gave a hawk and a spit, 
Rolled his eyes round a bit, 
This sublunary sphere shortly quitted. 



1 6 The Jade Chap let. 

Within that room with many a sigh, 
The widow's voice rose up in prayer, — 
With none but him, — for mortal eye 
Beheld not what was passing there : 
Sweetly her voice the stillness broke 
Of twilight hour, as thus she spoke : — 

" He's gone ; — his dear form I shall never more see, 
His bright eyes no more will beam softly on me ; 
For the breast where so often I've pillowed my head, 
Is cold to my touch, for, alas ! he is dead." 

With faltering step and streaming eyes, 
The wife an undertaker sought ; 
Meekly discussed its length and size 
And a most gorgeous coffin bought. 
She dressed herself in deepest white^ 
The undertaker then she bid — 
Place the departed out of sight, 
And carefully nail down the lid. 

His spirit tablet next she put 
Upon a table near his head ; 
While she sat at the coffin's foot, 
To watch and weep beside the dead. 



The Wife Tested. 17 

[Air : A Traveller stopped at a Widow's Gate.] 

Chuang still foxed — for he'd no intention to die- 
Determined yet further his widow to try, 
So he transformed himself, in the twink of an eye, 

To a young man, and entered the door. 
In front of the tablet he piously stept, 
Poured out a libation — knelt down, groaned and wept — 
This awkwardish posture for some time he kept, 

While bumping his head on the floor. 

The widow ere long her eyes furtively raised, 
Just to take a sly peep — but was greatly amazed, 
For never before in her life had she gazed 

On so handsome or well-dressed a man : 
This vision somehow made her heart palpitate, — 
It seemed that he must have been sent there by fate, 
" Oh, wouldn't he make me a capital mate ! " 

In this strain her wicked thoughts ran. 

She asked him his age — he replied, " Twenty-three." 
" Well I never! you're just a year younger than me ! 
From henceforth we brother and sister will be — " 
(Here she ogled him archly and sighed. — ) 
c 



1 8 The Jade Chap let. 

Her eyes such a volume of witchery spoke, 
That Chuang began rather to relish the joke, 
And determined at once on the masterly stroke 
Of making his widow his bride. 

In short, they made love, and the next day were wed,— 
She cheerfully changing her white clothes to red. l 
Excited by drink they were going to bed, — 

When Chuang clapped his hand to his brow, — 
He groaned. — She exclaimed, — " What are you dying too? 
One husband I've lost and got married to you, 
Now you are took bad. — Oh, what shall I do ? 

Can I help you ? If so, tell me how." 

" Alas ! " groaned the husband, " I'm sadly afraid 
The disease that I have is beyond human aid. 
Oh ! the sums upon sums I the doctors have paid ! 

There a remedy is to be sure : — 
It is this : — take the brains from a living man's head, — 
If not to be had, get, and mash up i?istead 
Those of one who no more than three days has been dead: , 

'Twill effect an infallible cure ! " 

1 White is the colour for mourning, red is worn on joyful occasions, 
such as weddings, &c. 



The Wife Tested. 1 9 

The widow — by love and by liquor inflamed — 
Thought a moment, " Old Chuang's will just do ! " she ex- 
claimed, — 
" A capital plan / Why the remedy named 
Is a trifle ! " said she with a laugh : 
F II get them at once— you shall shortly avail 
Yourself of the cure that can't possibly fail : 
You shall have old Chuang's brains ; I know they're not stale ; 
He's been dead but a day and a half! " 

She grasped a kitchen chopper — before the tablet stood, 
Said she " Chuang, I would really have been faithful, if I 

could, 
Don't blame me if my heart is changed — it plainly was to be; 
Your horoscope foretold it so ; — it is your destiny. 

" Here, at your 'spirit tablet,' I dare speak nought but truth; 
And oh ! I do sincerely love a gay and gallant youth ; 
I feel assured your shade will not begrudge my happy fate, 
But rather smile approval, and us both congratulate. 

" Implicitly relying on your well-known common sense, 
What I now do I'm certain will not give the least offence. 

c 2 



20 The Jade Chaplet. 

The head of my poor lover is racked with throbbing pains ; 
Your head contains the remedy — / have come to take your 
brains ! " 

She grasped the chopper savagely — her brows she firmly 

knit j 

And battered at the coffin, until the lid was split. 

But, oh ! what mortal pen could paint her horror and her 

dread ; 
A voice within exclaimed ' " Hollo /" and Chitang popped up 

his head! 

" Hollo ! " again repeated he, as he sat bolt upright : 

" What made you smash my coffin hi ? — / see besides you're 
tight! 

You've dressed yourself in red, too ! What means this mum- 
mery? 

Let me have the full particulars and don't try on flummery." 

She had all her wits about her, though she quaked a bit with 

fear. 
Said she (the artful wretch !) "It seems miraculous, my dear ! 
Some unseen power impelled me to break the coffin lid, 
To see if you were still alive — which, of course, you know I 

did ! 



The Wife Tested, 21 

" I felt sure you must be living, so to welcome you once more, 
My mourning robes I tore off, and my wedding garments wore; 
But, were you dead, to guard against all noxious fumes I 

quaffed, 
As a measure of precaution — a disinfecting draught !" 

Said Chuang, " Your tale is plausible, but I think you'd 

better stop • 
Don't fatigue yourself by telling lies, just let the matter drop. 
To test your faithfulness to me I've been merely shamming 

dead, 
J'm the youth you just now married — my widow Tve just 

wed!" 

MORAL. 

From this tale, married women, a moral deduce ; — 
Don't turn up your nose, or give way to abuse 

When you hear of a poor widow fanning a grave ! 
You might, like my wife, get bowled out for your pains, 
While attempting to steal a defunct husband's brains. 
Do your best — but avoid supercilious pride, 
For you never can tell what you'll do till you're t7'ied : 

And you might do a worse thing than fanning a grave!" 



2 2 The Jade Chaplet. 



CHANG-PAN-PO, OR QUEEN MPS 
DEVOTION} 

On the ancient road and o'er the barren mountain 
bitterly the conflict raged. 

Red flowed the blood of the black-haired people into 
the soil j 

As a lamp shining through yellow haze makes all around 
more gloomy, 

So were {he stars obscured by dust : — there was heard 
the wailing cry of spirits. 

Ages hence his name will be revered for loyalty and 
devotion. 

1 The actual words of the following poem are to be found in a small 
volume entitled Chang-pan-po tzii-ti-shu. These are taken from the 
celebrated Historical play of Chang-pan-po. 

The substance of this poem is to be found in the San-kuo-chih, 
also in the San-kuo-yen-i. The latter work, although not so reliable as 
the former, is yet read with greater pleasure by the majority of Chinese, 
containing as it does most of the events which occurred at that period, 
but more highly coloured. Many plays are derived from the same 
source, of which the play of Chang-pan-po is one. 



Chang-pa?i-po, or Queen Mis Devotion. 23 

How brave ! He valued his life as if 'twere but a 
feather's weight. 

At Chang-pan-po the bloody sweat in streaming torrents 
fell: 

Exhaust and faint was General Chao-tzu-lung} 

Liu-hsuan-te 2 fled for refuge towards Chiang-ling, 3 intend- 
ing there his forces to recruit, 

But unexpectedly, on the Tang-yang road, encountered 
the pursuing troops. 

Fierce was the fight around him; midst the forest of 
swords and spears monarch and ministers were scattered. 

Amid the tramp of marching in the wilderness, and the 
hoarse shouts of slaughter, the Crown Prince was lost. 

Queen Mi A carried A-tou in her bosom. 

1 Chao-tzu-lung. A general, and the hero of the play, called 
variously Chao-tzu-lung, Chao-yun, and Tzu-lung. 

2 Liu-hsuan-te, not at this time Emperor, was the Emperor of Shu, 
afterwards Hou-'Han ; according to the best historian, Chu-tzu-yang, 
who considers him as being the rightful possessor of the throne. 
Another historian, Ssu-ma-kuang, styles Liu-hsuan-te a rebel, and in- 
variably writes the word "invasion "in reference to any expedition to 
the frontiers. 

s In Hu-pei. 

4 Mi-fu-jen, one of Liu-hsiian-te 's two queens, — the other, Kan-fu- 
jen, was the mother of A-tou, but Mi-fu-jen was the preserver of the 
child, — sacrificing her own life to save his, the more worthy of praise 
as not being the child's own mother. 






24 The Jade Chap let. 

Night came on apace, her tears fell trickling in the 
autumn breeze. 

Wounded by an arrow, from midnight senseless she lay 
upon the desert turf, 

With but the faintest breathing — one little thread not 
snapped — until the break of day, 

When the queen again revived from her death-like faint, 

That delicate and graceful body cold as ice. 

Suddenly by her side she heard the autumn crickets 
chirp, 

Felt too the arrow- wound's throb-throbbing pain : 

Slowly she opened wide her " almond eyes " and flutter- 
ing fire-flies saw ; 

Raising her drooping breast she then perceived A-tou 
still nestled there : 

The fallen leaves thickly bestrewed the ground, her form 
was covered with the ice-cold dew ; 

She saw far far away in space the few and fading stars 
not yet dispersed, and the moon's shadowy slanting rays. 

Weak, fearful as she was, the trembling queen sat up, 

And saw the cold mist settled o'er the earth, the 
withered herbage beaten down : 

Her dark-blue sleeves concealed by dust, her skirt all 
soiled ; 



Chang-panpo, or Queen Mis Devotion. 25 

Her blood-stained shoes — her stockings red with gore. 

Stretching her hand towards her bosom to caress the 
Prince, 

She perceived that he was motionless and silent ; 

Queen Mi became alarmed, her colour fled, she gazed 
intently on him : — 

In truth the little A-tou was sleeping soundly, having 
fairly tired himself and cried himself to sleep. 

Turning her face towards the tender child she cried 
" Awake ! " 

And saw the Prince's tiny hand gently unclose, his eyes 
slowly open wide. 

Seeing her, with anxious brow and pouting lips 

His little face he in her bosom thrusts, and tumbles it in 
search of nutriment. 

The Queen distressed, exclaimed, " My heart ! my life ! 
arouse ! 

My child ! and does he want his breast ? Ah, you are 
hungry ! " 

She could only sigh, " Oh, bitter fate, my little one is 
famishing ! 

And I know not whither your own mother wanders ! " 

Closely Queen Mi embraced the Prince, her heart op- 
pressed with grief. 



26 The Jade Chap let. 

The little A-tou, patient and good, never even moaned. 

At this time the mists gradually disappeared, the sky 
became bright ; 

The sun appeared, reddening each mountain summit and 
tree top. 

She then perceived upon the banks of that ensanguined 
stream the cawing crows, 

And amidst heaps of slain were arrows, broken bows. — 

Betattered tents, gongs, drums and flags bestrewed the 
ground ; 

War steeds in numbers too, saddleless, in wild confusion 
pranced and neighed. 

Sad, sad at heart Queen Mi looked o'er the plain. 

Viewing the scene she thinks " 'Tis hard to tell if he, the 
Emperor 1 's preserved ; 

Perhaps Queen Kan has also lost her life : 

I also do not see Mishit, Mi-fang? nor yet Chien-yung? 

No tidings either of Cha?ig-feif the third brother. 

1 Lit. 'Huang-shu, the Emperor's uncle. Liu-hsuan-te at this time 
had not been proclaimed Emperor of the 'Hou'Han : — he was the 
uncle of 'Han, so that the queen generally speaks of him as ' ' the 
Emperor's uncle." 

2 Mi-shu and Mi-fang, two generals, brothers of Queen Mi. 
% Chien-yung, one of Liu-hsiian-tPs generals. 

4 Chang- fei) Liu's third brother, also a general. 



Chang-pan-po, or Queen Mis Devotion. 27 

They must, when with their troops amid the turmoil of 
the strife, have fallen with Chang-shanks Chao-tzu-lung} 

Should it be that Prince and Minister all have fallen by 
Tsao 2 the rebel's hand, 

And I, a woman, with no place to fly to, and I fear 
unable to nourish this poor orphan child." — 

The queen indulging in this strain, thought but of death. 

But looking on A-tou, nestling in her breast, she dissolved 
in tears, 

And sighed : " His father has wandered half his life, and 
has but this one child. 

A drop of bone and blood, a child, a very babe. 

Now, if I would prove my thorough faithfulness to him? 
this child must die. 

But when I reach the ' yellow springs ' 4 how could I face 
the ancestors of Ziu's house ? " 

In this distressing strait the queen bent down her head 
and wept, 

1 Chao-tzu-lung 's native place. He is called Chang-shan's Chao- 
tzu-lung. 

2 Tsao was the king of Wei and at war with Liu ; the queen 
speaking of him invariably calls him the rebel Tsao, or Tsao the rebel. 

3 Queen Mi as a faithful wife would feel bound to immolate herself 
on the death of her husband, but if she does so what is to become of the 
child. 

4 When I die. 



28 The Jade Chap let. 

When, suddenly, in the distance, she saw the rebel troops 
marching o'er the plain. 

Anxious, unable, too, to tend her gaping wound, 

She clenched her silvery teeth ; supporting herself by 
the head of a tomb, she raised her form erect * 

And by the roadside saw a cotter's house that by the 
rebel Tsao had been destroyed by fire ; 

But half the earthen walls remained, these would conceal 
her form. 

Embracing fast the child, fainting at every step she 
struggled on. 

Brave woman ! for this orphan's sake she nobly bore her 
pain ! 

She reached the earthen wall, and round about a well 
just by its side 

Saw footprints, blood stains on the tangled herbage, the 
ground all red. 

She felt the racking agonising pain of her deep wound ; 

Her panting breath came short, and hard to catch ; — 
while from her empty chest 

Came trembling plaintive sounds ; sweat streamed down 
her pallid face ; she closed her beauteous eyes 

And bowed her gem-like neck ! her golden ornaments 
came out, releasing clouds of soft dishevelled hair. 



Chang-pan-po, or Queen Mis Devotion. 29 

But, ah! she indistinctly sees — it must be — yes, the sheen 
of banners ! 

She gasps ! she hears, or thinks she hears, the roll of 
battle drums : 

In danger, with strength exhausted, prone upon the 
ground. 

Suddenly she heard a voice exclaim, " Ah ! she must be 
hidden here ! " 

With precious sword and " spirit spear" reeking with the 
smell of blood ; 

His jewelled mail and silvered robe besmeared with 
dust ; 

His lustrous eyes, so large and bright, 

Showed a devoted heart, a noble mind. 

Queen Mi was hid behind the old well's boundary stone. 

And Chao-y tin's horse came eastward of the earthen 
wall : 

He saw the queen clasp A-tou to her breast, and sit 
with drooping head, 

So grieved, so sad ; her hair disordered, her face all 
soiled, her beauty spoilt. 

Chao-tzuhing in haste sprang from his saddle, stuck 
spear in ground, and fastened up his steed. 

Raised up his robe, knelt down and made obeisance. 



30 The Jade Chap let. 

Bowing again his head, he said, " My queen has been 
alarmed, the Prince I trust is well ? 

This is all Chao-yurCs fault, a general with no ability." 

Queen Mi with mingled grief and joy exclaimed, " The 
Emperor, is he alive ? " 

Tzil-lung replied, " He broke through the dense mass 
that surrounded him and fled direct eastward." 

The queen exclaimed, " The fortune of the Emperor is 
the Empire's fortune ; who went with him ? " 

Tzii-lung bowing his head, replied, " I-te accompanied 
him." 

Queen Mi, nodding her head, said, " General, no need 
for ceremony." 1 

Chao-yun arose and bowing, said, 

" My honoured lady, I beseech you, deign but to ride 
your servant's horse, 

And when we break their ranks, then tightly clasp the 
Prince, and do not be alarmed." 

The queen exclaimed, " And you will fight on foot ? " 
The hero cried, " Yes, even so. 

Depend but on your servant's zeal, bravery and loyalty. 

Quick, I beseech you, lady, haste, mount the horse. 

1 The general during the dialogue has been on his knees. 



Chang-pan-po, or Queen Mis Devotion. 3 r 

And Chao-yun dares to risk his life to be imperial guar- 
dian back to camp." 

Queen Mi heaved one long sigh, and with falling tears 

Exclaimed, " Now do I know and see my husband's 
clear perception. 

Tis hard to tell, yet his clear eye could read and know 
his man. 

That Chao-tzu-lung in time of need would be to him his 
greatest help — a brother." 1 

Timid and weak, with strengthless limbs the queen knelt 
down and said : 

" This kneeling posture is not to the general but to his 
loyalty." 

Alarmed, the brave general fell upon his knees, and 
lowly bent his head. 

The noble woman in plaintive tones with bitter falling 
tears 

Looked at the brave general, and sadly pointing to her 
breast, 

Exclaimed, " Have pity on this poor, bewildered, help- 
less babe ! 

His father, now alas ! is getting old and at his knees he 
has no other child. 

1 Lit, shoulders and arms. 



32 The Jade Chap let. 

Your Prince, this precious burden, I now entrust to you : 

His sad fate — life, death, safety or ruin, — all rest with 
you. 

I look to you, one-half to your loyalty and faith, and 
one-half to your hoard of hidden virtue, 

And Hsuan-te will not be alone in gratitude to you for 
this great act of kindness : 

The ancestors of Liu's house now mouldering in their 
graves will all be deeply grateful too." 

Chao-tzii-lung, his heroic heart racked with grief, could 
only sigh assent with bended head. 

Queen Mi arose, loosened her broidered scarf, 

Took A-tou from her breast, and raised him in her arms ; 

With saddened heart, her beauteous face close to the 
Prince's pressed, 

Crying, " My child, this day our destiny 's complete, 
mother and child must separate. 

My little injured one ! ah ! heed not thy mother's tender 
sighs, nor fret for her. 

Nay do not cry, my child, and when you see your 
parents, , 

Say that your other mother — enough, enough, you would 
speak for me, but, alas, you cannot." 

Then turning to the loyal man she said, " Now I take 
A-tou and deliver him to you ; 



Chang-pan-po, or Queen Mis Devotion. 33 

Careful injunctions to you I know I need not give. 

But, oh ! when horse and man collide — when swords and 
lances flash, they have no eyes. 

Then look you to the Prince, guard well his life, protect- 
ing too your own. 

My child is delicate, his little bones are frail. 

Place him beneath your corselet, next your heart, yet 
not too tightly, nor so very loose." 

Tzu-lung exclaimed : " Lady, I entreat you, mount my 
horse, and in your bosom hold the Prince. 

I then will, with my single spear, on foot, fight through 
the rebel force." 

The queen, with solemn mien, exclaimed, " General, you 
mistake : 

I, a woman, suffering from a painful wound, how could I 
accompany you ? 

Besides, I cannot ride ; 'tis you must use the horse. 

How could you hope, on foot, with your one spear to 
fight your way through hosts ? 

Take it. One A-tou saved by you is better far than 
thousands like myself : 

This child is the successor of Liu's house — his heir. 

Man may live till a hundred years, then comes the 
1 great limit ' — at last he must die. 

D 



34 The Jade Chap let. 

My death to-day will be a blessed one, and its cause 
fully known. 

Make for me many obeisances to the Emperor. 

Bid him not be sorrowful but ever study his people's 
welfare. 

With his ' three-foot blade ' sweep clean the rebels, and 
exterminate his country's foes. 

One hand supporting high the bright red sun, and 
making glorious and prosperous the dynasty of Han. 

Remember well my words — take the child, and go ! " 

The loyal hero would not take the Prince, but besought 
the queen to accompany him : 

The impetuous woman, steeling her heart, placed down 
the crying babe ; 

Turned her fair form, plunged into the ancient well, and 
gave her spirit up to Hades ; 
. Her noble spirit returning back to heaven : 

But her beauteous form was hid in the cold and lonely 
waters of the well over which the zephyrs played. 

Her spotless life, her words, her acts, all were admirable. 

Her nobleness and loyalty were bright as the red sun in 
the azure sky. 

Chao-tzii-hmg, with his spear overturned the earthen 
wall and covered in the well. 



Chang-pan-po, or Queen Mis Devotion. 35 

Burst through the cordon that surrounded him, saved 
A-tou, and safely joined Liu. 

The composition of my leisure hours has made me weep. 
The entrusted orphan's fate 

I've writ, that ages hence men shall feel ashamed and 
emulate a woman. 



d 2 



36 The Jade Chap let. 



CHA 0- TZU-L UNG. 

(SEQUEL to chang-pan-po.) 

What true " Son of Han" 1 knows not " Chao-tzil-htng 's " 2 

name? 
Front and foremost 'tis writ in the annals of fame ; 
His deeds both in cottage and palace are sung, 
Even infants are taught to lisp " brave Chao-tzii-lung!" 

Whose step was so light ? He could outrun the deer : 

Who braver than he ? His heart knew not fear. 

Whose voice was more gentle? Whose eye was more 

bright ? 
A child with his friends, but a lion in fight. 

How often in many a hard-foughten field, 

Has his daring breast been an emperor's shield ! 

1 Chinese. ■ 

2 Chao-tzu-lung. One of the generals of Lm-pai. 



Chao-tzu-lung. 3 7 

E'en his bitterest foe by his prowess was struck, 

And cried, " He is brave, his whole body 's all pluck ! " 1 

But oh ! what a lustre did one noble deed shed, 
Like a halo of light, round the young hero's head ! 
By its bright rays encircled that action sublime 
Comes down to us softened and hallowed by time. 

In the carnage at Chang-pan 2 was heard a wild shriek, 
So startling — so piercing — it blanched every cheek : 
"Where's the child — the young crown prince — the little 

A-tou ? 
He 's lost ! He is dead ! He is left with the foe. 

Oh, save him ! — my infant ! — your Emperor's son ! 
The child of his old age ! — he has but that one ! 
You rescued his mother — save him!" and she clung — 
She — a queen — to the knees of the brave Chao-tzu-lung ! 



1 Hun shen tu shih tan. This expression was first made by Liu- 
pai, who witnessing his bravery, exclaimed in a burst of admiration, 

" His whole body 's all pluck " ! To this day he is commonly spoken 
of as Hun tan chiang chun, "The all pluck general." 

2 Chang-pan, or Chang-pan-po. Name of the place where the 
battle was fought. 



38 The Jade Chap let. 

Twice before had he dashed through the midst of the strife, 

Dealing death to his foes, but each time saving life ; l 

He then fought for honour, — now, more noble— more 

brave- 
He a third time dared death a poor infant to save. 

Through the ranks of the foe he once more fiercely fought, 
And o'er that vast plain the child eagerly sought 
'Mongst the dead and the dying — but ah ! who can tell 
His delight when he found it asleep near a well ! 

Unloosing his mail, he tore open his vest — 

Placed it tenderly — still fast asleep — in his breast ; 

There he felt it was safe, for he knew every dart 

That would harm that dear babe must be aimed at his heart. 

Far away the blue smoke of his camp fires is seen, 
There, the poor mother waits — but the foe lies between : 
What recks he ! He thinks them a handful at most ; 
With that child in his bosom, he could conquer a host. 

Again he charged madly, while every blow 

From his death-dealing brand laid an enemy low : 

1 He had just saved a wounded general and the queen. 



Chao-tzu-lung. 39 

He cuts through them all, and the battle field rung 
With the triumphant shout of the brave CJiao-tzu-lung ! 

They pursue us ! On ! On ! faster still trusty steed ! 
The life of a prince rests on your strength and speed ! 
Brave horse ! How he gallops ! proudly arching his 

neck, 
For the heir of an empire he bears on his back. 

With nostrils distended — with wild glaring eyes, 
On ! On ! faster — faster — the gallant horse flies : 
Reeking — panting — nay sobbing, with strength almost gone, — 
With heart well-nigh bursting he still gallops on ! 

Hark ! the clatter of hoofs — they are drawing more near ; 
The hoarse cries of his foes — they are close in his rear : 
A loud shout which even his stout heart appals — 
A crash ! and the jaded horse staggers and falls ! 

The child ! — he is safe ! — up my poor beast once more ! 
Let us cross but this plain and all danger is o'er : 
Up and on ! — and once more the steed's mettle is tried, 
As pursued and pursuers gallop on side by side. 



4-0 The Jade Chap let. 

On again, gallant steed, we must fight as we fly ! 
On ! with firmly clenched teeth and a resolute eye, 
He whirls round his blade, blows fall thick as hail, 
But oh ! how he guards that dear child 'neath his mail ! 

On, -fighting and flying, their track o'er the plain 
Is marked by the corses of foes he has slain ; 
Will it never be ended — that unequal fight ? 
On ! one struggle more ! there's the river in sight ! 

" Chang-fei? on your life keep those demons at bay, 
I have the child safe ! " he has just strength to say : 
He crosses the bridge, and before him he sees 
The mother awaiting him under those trees. 

And what a glad shout did that brave hero greet, 
As he sprang from his horse — threw himself at her feet — 
And exclaimed, as exhausted he sank on the ground, 
" Thy dead son is living, he was lost and is found" 2 

* Chang-fei. Another of Liu-pa? s generals. 

** Liu-pai, the father of the child, thought so much of the heroism 
of Chao-tzu-lung, that he dashed the babe to the ground as worthless. 
The incidents contained in this ballad are also to be found in the San- 
kuo-chih, and are historical facts. 



4* 



ADVENTURES OF " TINY RTLLP 

" Bubbling Spring " had a daughter — the clear " Tiny Rill. 

Who could scarcely have been an inch wide ; 
When she longed for a change, so she stole down the hill, 

And trickled away from " Spring's " side. 

" Tiny Rill " ran away with no thought of fear, 

And careless of what she had done ; 
She was free — and her bright face, transparent and clear, 

Gleamed and glistened again in the sun. 

Over green fields and meadows on " Tiny Rill " ran ; 

(The little precocious coquette !) 
She was pretty she knew, and thus early began 

Gaily flirting with all that she met. 

Her favours on both sides she'd gracefully shower, 

Regardless to whom they might be ; 
One moment she'd kiss the sweet lips of a flower, 

The next — lave the root of a tree. 



4 2 The Jade Chap let. 

Put your face down to hers, — your hand merely dip 
In her bosom — a clear draught to quaff; — 

She would slip through your fingers, or glide by your lip, 
Rippling off with a silvery laugh. 

On ran " Tiny Rill," and the farther she went, 

The deeper and broader she grew ; 
Her clear limpid beauty and winding ways lent 

A charm to the scenes she passed through. 

All at once a great change came o'er " Tiny Rill ; " 

She wore not the same placid look ; 
More giddy — more joyous, — more beautiful still, 

She now brawled along " Purling Brook." 

Whirling, 

Twirling, 

Recklessly hurling 

Herself 'gainst the rocks in frolicsome fun. 

Splashing, 

Flashing, 

Incessantly dashing 

Her glittering spray in the face of the sun. 



Adventures of " Tiny Rill." 43 

She would leap from one rock to another in play, — 

Tumble down on her pebbly bed ; 
Like a Naiad, let the dazzling, sun-smitten spray 

Fall, in prismatic gems round her head. 

Sometimes she would lash herself into a rage, 

And rush roaring and seething along, 
Till a bit of smooth ground would her anger assuage, 

And she'd liquid] y murmur a song. 

'•Purling Brook's " voice was clear as a " gold 'floating bell-" ' 

But, oh ! what melodious tones 
Her bosom produced as it rose and it fell, 

In sighs over " musical stones ! " 2 

Ere long she gave over her frolicsome ways, 
They passed like a phase of some dream ; 

Imperceptibly gliding from wild " Brook-hood's " days 
Into translucent " Pure Crystal Stream." 

1 Fou-chin-chang. This is probably poetical imagery, in allusion 
to the musical sound of running water. Frequent mention, however, 
is made in ancient books of a certain metal which floated on the water. 

2 Chhig. It is said that the musical properties of this peculiar 
stone were first discovered by some priests, who, while performing their 
ablutions in a brook were attracted by the sweet sounds caused by the 
water rippling over it. Its uses as a bell are too well known to need 
comment. 



44 The Jade Chaftlet. 

She was pure as crystal — just take a sly peep 
In her eyes, but don't too rudely stare : — 

You'll see in their depths — down, down, oh ! so deep, 
Yourself clearly photographed 1 there ! 

There wasn't a flower that grew on her banks, 
But would waft her a sweet-scented sigh ; 

They all offered love, but with murmuring thanks, 
She demurely and gently passed by. 

She glided on smoothly and quite self-possessed, 

Unless, as was sometimes the case, 
The willow would bend down and toy with her breast, 

Or the gentle breeze dimple her face. 

The meanderings of "Pure Crystal Stream" were soon past, 
And she now " Flowing River" became; 

But contact with filthy pollution at last, 
Soiled her hitherto unsullied name. 

She indeed looked majestic as onward she flowed, 
And her breast heaved and swelled with the tide, 



1 A slight liberty — mirrored or reflected would have perhaps been 
more correct. 



Adventures of " Tiny Rill!' 45 

For handsome and gallant ships now proudly rode 
On her broad bosom — near a mile wide. 

But, alas ! all her pureness and clearness were gone, 

She could never more transparent be : 
Through marshes and swamps " Flowing River " rolled on, 

And rushed into the arms of " Deep Sea." 

Soon she mingled with " Billows " and big " Mountain 
waves," 
And from one to another was tossed ; 
Till, like other poor " Rills " who had thus found their 
graves, 
She became irretrievably lost. 

" Bubbling Spring " mourned her absence for long dreary 
years, 

And daily he weeps for her still : 
For what are all rivers and streams but the tears 

" Spring " sheds for the lost " Tiny Rill ? " 



46 The Jade Chap let. 



THE CHAIN PUZZLE} 

My lover, yes, my lover has come ! 

I-ya-i-ya-yu. 
And has presented me with a chain puzzle, 
With nine, oh ! nine chain links ; 
Both hands — both my hands cannot open it ; — 
I take a knife to sever it, 
But I cannot cut it asunder. 

I-tu-ya-tu-i-tu-yu. 

Whoever can open this my chain puzzle 

With nine, oh ! nine chain links, 

I will be — I will be his wife, 

And he shall be my husband — 

Yes, my husband. 

I-tu-ya-tu-i-tu-yu. 

: The Chain Puzzle is given without any attempt at versification, 
and, not from any special merit the composition may possess, but as a 
fair specimen of the weak and diluted style of songs, we in the West 
call "sentimental." It is translated almost literally. 



The Chain Puzzle. 47 

My lover lives in the city ; 

T live in a road-side village ; 

And I-^-yes I 

Live in a road -side village ; 

Although not very far from you, 

I am shut out southward of the city gate, 

And 'tis difficult for us to meet. 

I-tu-ya-tu-i-tu-yu. 

Could we but change into a pair of birds 

We'd soar up — up to heaven : — 

Fly, yes, fly even up to heaven, 

And then as rapidly descend. 

There is besides a ship, yes, a ship — 

There we would meet. 

I-tu-ya-tu-i-tu-yu. 

The snow-flakes whirling round, 
Fell three feet deep : — 
Three feet three inches deep, 
And whirling, whirling formed 
A beauteous snowy being 
Who in my bosom fell ; — 
I clasped him to my breast. 

I-tu-ya-tu-i-tu-yu. 



48 The Jade Chap let. 

The first watch struck. 

I-ya-i-ya-yu. 

The second watch, 

I waited for you, yet you did not come, 

No, you did not come. 

The third watch, 

The drum told me 'twas midnight. 

The fourth watch, the drum — 

The drum and cocks proclaimed the hour. 

I-tu-ya-tu-i-tu-yu. 

The fifth watch, 

The crowing cocks announced the dawn, 

Day, yes, day has broke : — 

The flowered curtains — 

Ivory couch — ■ 

Embroidered coverlet — 

, Downy pillows : — 

I think while on my pillow, — 

I think, oh ! think, 

My lover once gone will not come — 

No, he will not come ! 

He abandons me to my thoughts, — 

He causes me to think, — 

And I become love sick. 

I-tu-ya-tu-i-tu-yu. 



The Enchanted Tree. 49 



THE ENCHANTED TREE. 

In the palace at Peking an old ash l tree stands ; 
No one can tell in what reign it was planted ; 
Or whether by mortal or unearthly hands, — 
But everyone knows the old tree is enchanted. 2 

Strange stories are told of this wondrous ash tree, 
Of weird sounds at night, as of sobbing and weeping ; 
In daylight some even assert they can see 
Myriads of eyes from its foliage peeping. 

At a dynasty's close — there are heard wailing cries, 
As if restless spirits sad dirges were singing 
'Mid its branches and leaves : — when an emperor dies, 
The leaves emit moans as if " air-bells " 3 were ringing. 

1 Huai. This is a very beautiful overspreading tree, the yellow 
blossoms of which are used as a dye. Its medicinal and other properties 
are too well known to need recapitulation here. 

2 This tree is supposed to be in one of the courts of the palace, 
and is known by the name of Sheng-yin-mu, " the sounding tree." 

3 See Chang-Hang's Flute, p. 117. 



50 The Jade Chap let. 

When a minister true to his country remains, 

Or a just and good monarch the throne has ascended, — 

Then the old tree breaks into melodious strains, 

As if of stringed music with sweet voices blended. 

Each bright yellow flower golden music distils 
Drop by drop on the senses of those blessed to hear it : 
The tree is all music, — its melody thrills 
Through the hearts of all those who may chance to be 
near it. 

Alas ! 'tis not often such music is heard, 
(Will the tree never more its sweet concerts be giving?) 
Old folks shake their heads, for it has not occurred 
E'en once — in the life of the oldest now living. 1 

1 A proof of bad government in the poet's opinion. 






THE TWELVE MONTHS MANY STORIES} 

First Mo7ith. 

Tis the first month of the new year, 

My husband is going to the wars ; 

He goes to sweep the frontiers. 

The illuminations are without amusement to me. 

I was preparing his bow and arrows, when I suddenly heard 

the sound of drums, gongs and uproar in the street. 
Arranging my husband's baggage, how could I find time to 

go and look at it ? 
I have made several garments, and have well quilted the 

coats and jackets. 
The tears flowed plentifully from my eyes as I was sewing. 

1 This song, with several others, was read in English, and a portion 
of it sung, in Chinese, by the writer before the North China Branch of 
the Royal Asiatic Society, in Shanghai, on 5th June 1871. The songs 
in English and Chinese, with the music, were afterwards published in 
the Society's volume for 1871-2. 



52 The Jade Chap let. 

At parting innumerable sorrows arise, like the tempest 

arising out of a calm, suddenly to dissever our union. 
Oh, my husband, we are to be separated ! 
Wiien shall we meet again ? 



Second Month. 

Tis mid-spring ; the " Chun-fen" l 

My husband is going to the wars, and I am very sorrowful. 
I pour out a full cup of wine, to speed him on his journey. 
" You go for honour and fame ; I am left at home to watch 

the solitary lamp. 
I only wish you to soon acquire honour ; for when your flag 

is unfurled, you must be victorious. 
Listen, husband ; send me many letters of your welfare. 
The north wind is cold on the frontiers, you must take great 

care of yourself." 
When I had made an end of speaking, he mounted into the 

saddle, and started on his journey. 
Yet in his heart he was loth to go ! 
At every ten steps, he nine times turned his head. 
Both our hearts were full of grief and trouble. 

1 Name of the period. Spring equinox, about 20th March. 



The Twelve Months Many Stories. 53 

Third Month. 

'Tis " Pure Brightness," * the third month, 

The peach blossoms are red, the willows are green, 

And the appearance of spring is bright and beautiful. 

My husband is from home ; who will visit his ancestors' graves? 

This I ought to, and will do myself. 

The " spirit-tablets " of his ancestors are placed in the 

middle hall. 
Paper-money must be burnt to satisfy their expectations. 
In the distress of my heart, I cried to my husband's dead 

aged parents. 
" Your son is at the frontiers ; oh, protect, and keep all 

sickness from him ! " 
I then returned to my chamber. 

On looking in the mirror, how pallid my countenance was. 
Although not separated so very long from my husband, yet 

I have become quite emaciated. 

Fourth Month. 

'Tis the beginning of summer ; 2 the fourth month is come ! 
It is neither cold nor hot ; this would be pleasant for us, this 
agreeable weather. 

1 About the 5th April. 2 About the 5th May. 



54 The Jade Chap let. 

Yet my husband is absent ; this solitude is hard to bear. 

I bend my head to look at my red embroidered shoes. 

" My husband is from home ; who is to come and admire 
you?" 

My body is fallen away to a shadow. 1 

I cannot take either tea or food, and I am always melan- 
choly. 2 

'Twas but the other day that I laughed at others suffering 
from love-sickness, now / am suffering from it also. 

Yet 'tis my destiny, and I ought to bear it. 

I fear at night when the moon shines on the flower terrace. 

I am so lonely, and I sleep with my clothes on, for I am 
indifferent even to untying my silken girdle. 

Fifth Month. 

Tis the fifth month, — the " dragon-boat festival." 

I remember last year at this time, how my husband and I 

drank the " hsiung-'huang " wine together. 
We drank till exhilarated, and then we went together to look 

at the opening pomegranate blossoms. 
But to-day, how very lonely, how solitary ! 



Lit. like split wood. 

Lit. my eyebrows will not open. 



The Twelve Months Many Stories. 5 5 

I never wear a " spirit charm," nor a sprig of the " ai " leaf 

in my hair now. 
This year, this festival, how happy is it ! 
Yet I am a recluse, and must look after empty rooms. 
I sleep with my clothes on. 
In my dreams my husband is with me, but I suddenly 

awaken and find only myself within the red silken 

curtains, and the moon shining on the gauze windows. 
Others are annoyed that the nights are too short, 
I am vexed that they are so long. 
I cannot sleep till daybreak ; till I hear the crowing of the 

cocks. 

Sixth Month. 

Tis the sixth month, and the heat is difficult to bear. 

My husband is gone to the wars, and my mind is very 

uneasy. 
We have been separated now half-a-year, and I have not yet 

received a letter from him. 
I have burnt incense before Buddha, and " Kuan- Yin," the 

goddess of mercy, the saviour of those in distress and 

difficulty. 
" Protect him, so that he may soon be on his homeward 

road ! " 



56 The Jade Chap let. 

I will have Buddhist books printed. 

I ask of divination ; I entreat the gods, and have the fortune 

of the wayfarer told. 
I draw one of the slips, 'tis a long one ; one of good omen. 
Husband and wife will again be united. 
Yet at the bottom of my heart I thought, " This divining, 

this drawing of fortune-telling slips, I cannot believe to 

be true. 
The good omen of the wayfarer will not come to pass. 
After all it will turn out unfortunate. 
He will not return ! " 

Seventh Mcnth. 

'Tis the beginning of autumn ; l the seventh month. 
'Tis the month that " Nin-lang" 2 and " Chih-nii " meet 
This morning they cross the "Silver river," 3 and this 

evening they again are united. 
To-morrow morning early they will again separate. 
They love one another as well as we, and yet they have to 

separate. 
Worldly affairs cannot always be as we should wish. 

1 About the 7 th August. 

2 See note 6, in my Vocabulary of the Pekinese Dialect. 

3 Milky Way. 



The Twelve Months Many Stories. 5 7 

Even gods and fairies have their separations and unions, 

their sorrows and joys ! 
Why then should not I, a mortal, have my sorrows at 

separation ? 
I am restless ; I cannot sleep. 

My eyes look up to " Heaven's River," 1 and I soliloquise : 
" Chih-nu ! Star ! Come down from heaven, and share my 

solitude and distress! " 



Eighth Month. 

Tis the eighth month, the middle of autumn. 

The gazers* at the moon are in the upper stories. 

So too am I, but I am lonely and solitary ! 

I am constantly melancholy. 2 

The wild geese fly southward, and the " Golden wind " 3 

comes in cold fitful gusts. 
My husband is at the frontiers. 
This wind blows on him, and must penetrate through his 

clothing. 
In the depths of my heart I am so sad. 
I am daily sorrowful when I think of my husband. 

1 Milky Way. 2 Lit. eyebrows constantly frowning. 

3 Autumn breeze. 



58 The Jade Chap let. 

I know that I am falling away, the buttons tell me so, for my 

garments get gradually looser. 
When shall I be relieved of this solitude ! 
A man's heart is not like a woman's ! 
Surely he cannot have taken another ! 
Become infatuated with a fresh flower, and forgotten the 

old ! 

Ninth Month. 

Tis " Chung-yang" the ninth month. 

My husband is gone to the wars and not yet returned. 

Only just united, and so suddenly to be separated. 

Who would easily grow accustomed to this misery ? 

I look forward with anxiety for his return. 

The hot weather is over, and the cold has arrived. 

'Twould be really pleasant to be united now. 

The days are short, and the nights so long. 

I cannot avoid thinking of him. 

I am incurably love-sick ! 

Even the sea fairies' antidote " ling-tan" cannot cure it. 

If I wish to get the better of my sickness, there is no remedy 

for it, unless I see him again. 
My complexion is not the same as formerly. 



The Twelve Months Many Stories. 59 

If the flower has not rain or dew, that also will wither. 
And shall not I, a fair young woman, who does not see her 
husband, do so too ? 

Tenth Month. 

Tis the tenth month ; " Hsiao-yang-chim." 

Earth and sky are cold, and the snow falls fast and thickly. 

My husband is at the frontiers. 

There is no one to inquire if he is cold or hot 

The mountains are high and the waters are deep that sepa- 
rate us. 

I am sorrowful for your sake, and my spirits are diminishing. 

If you forget my love, Heaven will be wroth with you ! 

I remember one of the ancient women, " Meng-cheng," went 
to seek her husband. 

Everyone has heard of it. 

How in tears, fatigue and hardship, she struggled over a 
thousand li to the great wall, to take warm clothing to 
her husband. 

Her heart was like mine / 

But persons' hearts now are not the same as the ancients'. 

If / went to seek my husband, I am afraid people would 
only ridicule me. 



60 The Jade Chaplet. 

Eleventh Month. 

The eleventh month has arrived. 

The dropping water becomes ice, and the snow flakes whirl 

about in the air. 
I light a hand-stove and embrace it instead of my husband. 
This melancholy is grievous for a young woman. 
Who could be so affectionate to me as my husband ? 
The hand-stove is warm, but not so warm or affectionate as 

he. 
Who is that knocking at the door ? 
It is the letter-carrier ; he calls out " Madam ! " 
And I receive in my two hands a welcome letter. 
I break open the seal and look. 
In it is written : " Worthy wife, do not be unhappy, take 

care of your domestic affairs, I shall certainly arrive at 

the end of the year." 



Twelfth Month. 

The twelfth month is here. 

Last night the lamp-wick formed a beautiful lotus flower. 
The magpies chattered ; I think I must soon see him again , 
There is an uproar outside the door. 



The Twelve Months Many Stories. 6 1 

My husband has returned home ! 

He quits the saddle ! He alights from the horse ! 

He is a good one ! He did not break his word ! 

He is a real, genuine husband ! 

The broken mirror is again united. 

This is not merely my husband returned to his home from 
afar, 

It is evidently the sharp sword of the " Dragon of the foun- 
tain " to cut off my love-sickness. 

I am too delighted to speak ! 

Within the golden embroidered curtains we mutually relate 
our hearts' thoughts. 

Well may the common saying be, 

" There is more pleasure in one returning from afar, than in 
a new marriage." 



62 The Jade Chap let. 



CROSSING THE FERRY, OR PICKABACK 
LOVE.^ 

Young Wang sat idly by a stream, 

His bare feet dangling in the water ; 

Indulging in a mid-day dream 

Of love, — and neighbour Li's fair daughter. 

1 It would seem as if this song had its origin in a very old tale of a 
young scholar named Hsu, who was out walking one day when he 
came to a stream ; perceiving the water to be shallow, and desiring to 
cross it, he sat down and began to remove his shoes and stockings. 
While thus employed a beautiful girl suddenly appeared before him, 
and seemed by her manner to wish to cross the stream, but was dis- 
appointed because there was no means of doing so. 

Hsu perceiving this, said to her, "Fair girl, do you wish to pass 
over the stream ? " The girl smiled. Hsu again said, "What a pity 
to soil your shoes and stockings by wading through it. Let my back 
be used as a ferry-boat. " The girl blushing and confused got on his 
back. When in the centre of the stream, Hsu saw her beauty reflected 
in the stream and sang : — 

" The beautiful girl crosses the silver river; 
The red petticoat covers the green waves." 

Scarcely had he concluded the couplet before he reached the opposite 



Crossing the Ferry, or Pickaback Love. 63 

Why was he staying ? 

What was he saying ? 
He inwardly murmured, " S\iQmust come this way. 

" Can I, or can't I, 

" Shall I, or sha'n't I, 
" Pluck up a spirit and tell her to-day ? " 

What made his heart thus wildly beat, 
And caused his eyes to beam so brightly ; 
From the cool stream withdraw his feet, 
And spring up from the ground so lightly ? 

There stood at the head of the willow-fringed road, 
Like a beautiful picture enshrined in its frame, 
A girl whose fair features with exercise glowed, — 
She paused for a moment — then onward she came. 



bank ; the girl then got off his back, and completed a stanza with the 
following two lines : — 

" Only for these two sentences of poetry 
You shall be deprived of first-class scholarship in examination." 

The girl immediately disappeared, and Hsu never attained to the 
coveted scholarship, although eventually he rose to very high rank. 
This he ascribed to the influence of the fairy he had assisted to cross 
the river, but whom he had offended by his impertinence. 



64 The Jade Ckaplet. 

Wang watched her draw near, 

But of course couldn't hear, 
For her step was so light it emitted no sound ; 

But — time-honoured fashion — 

She left an impression, 
Of her " three inch gold lilies " 1 each time in the ground. 

Her face she averted, 

Looking quite disconcerted, 
At seeing young Wang stand alone on the brink ; 

'Twas no use to dissemble, 

She was all of a tremble, 
And she felt — as the saying is — ready to sink. 

There was the stream, but the stream it was wide, 
How could she get o'er to the opposite side ? 
She had miles yet to travel, and must hurry on, 
But the boat and the ferryman both were clean gone. 

To know what to do, she was quite at a loss — 
If he hadn't been there she'd have waded across ; 
A paddle in water would have been quite a treat, 
But she wouldn't let him see her stockingless feet. 

1 Poetical name for the small feet of Chinese women. 



Crossing the Ferry, or Pickaback Love. . 65 

The longer she thought, the more flurried she grew, 
And worked herself into a regular stew. 
For little she knew 'twas a well-arranged plan 
Of young Wang's, who that morning had well bribed the 
man. 

He stood looking on quite enjoying the fun, 
Inwardly chuckling at what he had done : 
Cursing the man and the boat that were gone — 
Calming the girl as the time still wore on. 

Thinking her patience by this time exhausted, 
He smiled, and the young girl politely accosted. 
"I see your dilemma, — but why all this worry ? 
There's my back at your service in crossing the ferry. 

" Jump up on my back, 

Cling tight to my neck, 
I'll engage to convey you across in a crack." 

He gently suggested, 

She mildly protested, 
But at length the point she no longer contested. 

F 



66 The Jade Chap let. 

Blushing carnation, her courage she plucked up ; 

With trembling hands she her petticoat tucked up. 

She had never before been so awkwardly placed— - 

Just fancy her sitting astride a man's waist ! 

And her " three inch gold lilies " — perforce, he held them. 

His hands doing duty as stirrups, pro tern. 

" Put your arms round my neck, — there, now you're all rights 

But whatever you do, be sure you hold tight. 

" The water, you see, 

Won't come up to my knee, 
But the tighter you cling — the safer you'll be." 

She bowed to her fate, 

As he, proud and elate, 
Stepped into the water with his precious freight. 

" Doesn't the sun shine out dazzlingly bright ! 

Are not the gold-bordered clouds snowy white ! 

Isn't the sky a magnificent blue ! 

Are not the wild flowers brilliant in hue ! 

Is not their fragrance deliciously sweet ! 

Doesn't the water feel cool to the feet ! 

Where's there a stream runs so limpid and clear ! 

Doesn't its ripple sound soft to the ear ! 



'Crossing the Ferry, or Pickaback Love. 67 

How sweet the birds warble from every bough ! 
How refreshing the gentle breeze comes to the brow ! 
Don't the trees, and the fields, and the meadows look 

green! 
Could a painter portray such an exquisite scene ? 
Can all this be real ? Am I sure it's no dream ? 
Is she in my arms ? Are we crossing the stream ? 
No, not in my arms — but she is on my back, 
For do not I feel her arms clasping my neck ? " 

But he altered the tune 

Remarkably soon ; 
His rhapsody ceased as he swayed to and fro : 

He cursed most infernally, — 

(Of course 'twas internally,) 
Ai-ya ! there's a tittlebat nibbling my toe ! 

Ai-yo and ai-ya ! 

Such a little fracas, 
He couldn't of course be expected to tell, 

But said : " Isn't it odd 

On a stone I have trod," 
Which answered the purpose remarkably well. 



68 The Jade Chaplet. 

The bright sun seemed brighter, 

The blue sky still bluer ; 

The fleecy clouds whiter, 

The pure air more pure ; 

The clear stream still clearer ; 

He drew nearer and nearer 
The opposite bank — but suddenly stopped ; 
In his head an idea had suddenly popped. 

Why was he staying ? 

What was he saying ? 
He inwardly murmured, "I'll tell her to-day : 

I do love her, don't I ? 

And always will, won't I ? 
But the job is, I feel at a loss what to say." 

" Why do you pause ? 

What is the cause 
Of your fixing your eyes on the stream so intently ? 

What is it you see ? 

Pray tell it to me," 
Cried she, — at the same time nudging him gently. 

" I was told by a fairy one night in a dream, 

That my fate would be sealed at mid-day in this stream ; 



Crossing the Ferry, or Pickaback Love. 69 

That she loved me— and if I came hither and sought her, 
She would show me her face in the clear running water, 
And from thence speak her love, — the stream too would 

show, 
If I in return loved her really or no. 
It is noon, but alas ! the fair face I expected, 
In the clear running water I see not reflected. 

" I look in the water and there I behold, 

The clear stream flow over the bright yellow sand, — - 

Like pure molten silver o'er glittering gold, 

And mirrors the forms of us both as we stand. 

I can see a lithe form so symmetrically shaped, 

That I almost imagine it cannot be real ; 

The garments in which this fair being is draped 

Enhance but the charms they are meant to conceal. 

" But I see not a trace 

Of the beautiful face 
That appeared in my dream and bade me come here, 

Look over my shoulder, 
. See if you can behold her. 
Perhaps if you look her sweet face would appear." 



jo The Jade Chap let. 

She little suspecting 

The part she was acting, 
Looked eagerly into the depths of the stream ; 

But she'd like to have died, 

When he suddenly cried, 
" There's the face of the fairy I saw in my dream /" 

Yes, down in the water his eyes and hers met, 
Neither spoke — for a word would have broken the spell ; 
It was but a glance, quick as lightning — but yet 
Each knew what the other felt equally well. 

In confusion — her blushing face sank on his shoulder, 
Her eyes had perhaps told him more than they ought, 
And there in the cool running water he told her 
All the love that he felt — and they both of them thought- 

" Doesn't the sun shine out dazzlingly bright ! 

Are not the gold-bordered clouds snowy bright! 

Isn't the sky a magnificent blue ! 

Are not the wild flowers brilliant in hue ! 

Isn't their fragrance deliciously sweet ! 

What place could be better for lovers to meet ! 



Crossing the Ferry, or Pickaback Love. 7 1 

Where's there a stream runs so limpid and clear ! 

Doesn't its ripple sound soft to the ear ! 

How sweet the birds warble from every bough ! 

How refreshing the gentle breeze plays on the brow ! 

Don't the trees, and the fields, and the meadows look green ! 

Could a painter portray such an exquisite scene ! 

Isn't it pleasant to stay thus and dream ! 

Isn't it sweet to make love in a stream ! " 



72 



The Jade Chap let. 



JEN KUETS RETURN, 

A PLAY. 

{From the Chinese. ) 



gramaiis Jjjtrsjffnat. 
Wang Chan . . . . . A Tavist Priest. 

Jen Kuei A Soldier of Fortune. 

Ting Shan ... . . . Son of Jen Kuei. 

Liu Ying Fang . . Wife of Jen Kuei. 

Tiger. 

Time of Representation .... One hour, 

Chinese costume of the Tang dynasty. 



SCENE I. 



Mountain Scenery. Enter an old man from ravine at the 
back. Old man supporting himself with a staff advances 
to front of stage and recites ; 



INTRODUCTION. 



The ground 's bedecked with opening yellow flowers 
And fairies issue forth from grots and bowers. 



Jen Kuei's Return. j$ 

Within these mountain fastnesses I've stayed 
Since boyhood's earliest hours, and ever made 
The skilful arts my study and delight, 
My task by day, my very dreams at night. 
All that my Mentor knew of magic lore, 
His own lips taught me — still I longed for more ; 
My leisure hours within my cave I passed, 
Weaving new spells — each subtler than the last, 
And daily — hourly, in the classics pored, 
Till each I knew by rote, ay, word for word ; 
Compounding potions — mixing fairy pills, 
A panacea for all earthly ills. 

I am Wang-chan, a poor old Taoist priest, but for my 
pupil Ting-shan's sake, who is exposed to danger at 'Hung- 
'ho-wan, I now go forth armed with the mandate of Yii-ti 
to succour him. So I'll take my tiger and depart to save 
him. (Sings.) 

SONG. 

The dappled stag in the front of the hill, 

And the loping wolf behind, 
Contracted a friendship, for good or for ill, 

Each to each to be equally kind. 



74 The Jade Chaplet. 

When the wolf was in danger, the brave dappled stag 

Dashed gallantly off to his aid ; 
He thought but of friendship, nor once did he flag 

Till his old friend the wolf he had saved. 

One day the poor stag in his turn came to griei : 
Did the wolf save his dappled friend then ? 

No ; true to his blood, like a vile midnight thief, 
The wolf skulked away to his den. 

Now that I have done with all worldly affairs, why am I 
here ? 'Tis on account of my pupil Hsiieh-ting-shan. 

{Pointing southward and blowing; immediately a tiger appears 
before him. Addressing the tiger.) 

Tiger, stand before me and listen, for I have some 
instructions to give you. You take my pupil to the moun- 
tains so that he may be saved, and I will reward you with a 
fat sheep. But should he come to harm, you shall be sent 
to the depths of the mountains never to return. (Exit, 
tiger.) I shall not remain here long, but shortly go myself 
to f Hung-'ho-wan. (Exit, R.) 



Jen Kiteis Return. 75 



SCENE II. 

(An old brick or pottery kiln with a low wall running round 
it; opening in the wall leading to the door of the kiln. 
Liu-ying-fang enters from kiln.) 

[liu. 

My husband has gone to Chang- An J and has never yet 
returned. I am Liu-ying-fang, the wife of Hsueh, but he 
has now been gone eighteen years as a soldier to the capital, 
and I have never received any tidings of him, 

I and my son live in this old kiln and have not where- 
with to keep us. The weather is delightfully pleasant 
to-day, so I'll bid my son go forth and spear a few fish or 
shoot a goose at 'Ho-wan. (Calls.) Ting-shan, my son, 
where are you ? (Retires to the side. — Ting-shan enters from 
the kiln.) 

TING. 

My father has gone to Chang- An; he has now been away 
these eighteen years. This old kiln is my birthplace, and 
my name is Ting-shan. (To his mother) My dear mother, 
good morning (kneeling). 

1 In Shansi ; at that time the capital of the Empire. 



76 The Jade Chaplet. 

LIU. 

My child, never mind ceremony, but sit down. 

TING. 

I will sit, since you bid me. (Sits.) Mother, you called 
me, what have you to tell me ? 

LIU. 

See, to-day the weather is clear and fine. Go, my son, 
to 'Ho-wan, and spear some fish or shoot a goose that we 
may satisfy our hunger. My son, are you willing to go ? 

TING. 

Oh, yes ! I will go with the utmost willingness. 

LIU. 

Since you are willing to go, first sit down by the old kiln 
and listen to what I have to tell you. (Sings,) 

SONG. 

Be seated, my son, near this ruined kiln door, 

And patiently listen to what I now say ; 
Your father, alas, when we wed was so poor, 

That we had not wherewith to keep hunger away. 






Jen Kueis Return. Jj 

So he started one day for the town of Chang- An, 

As a soldier, the foes of his country to fight ; 
When he left, you were not then born, my Ting-shan. 

His own son, alas, never gladdened his sight- 
Since he first left his home 'tis now eighteen long years, 

How sadly and slowly those weary years passed : 
Each day saw me here half blinded with tears, 

Watching, hoping, and praying he might come at last. 

My son, you are now my sole solace and pride, 
In all this wide world who have I but you ? 

I droop if one hour you're away from my side : 

Should you leave me like him, oh, what should I do 

On you, too, the time-honoured duty now falls 
The mother who reared you in comfort to keep ; 

To tend to my grave when I leave these four walls, 
For the narrower home where our ancestors sleep. 

Go, my son, to the river with bow and with spear, 
On wild goose and carp your skill there display ; 

I shall wait your return with anxiety here, 

Each moment an hour while my Ting-shan 's away. 



78 The Jade Chap let 

(Lad sings.) 

Mother dear, pray where is the need, 

To me these instructions to give ? 
You know very welljjl shall heed 

Every word you have said while I live. 

I'll quickly return, never fear, 

And when I come back you shall see 

Geese and carp — perhaps a fat deer — ■ 
But now, mother, listen to me. 

I was down by the river one day, 
And an arrow had deftly let fly 

At a goose slowly skimming away 
Athwart the blue mid- summer sky ; 

When an old man, his hair white as snow, 
His features bewrinkled by age, 

Came up with step stately and slow, 
Like a hermit or some ancient sage. 

My features he carefully scanned, 
And my horoscope rapidly cast : 

He could tell by the lines in my hand, 
The future, the present, the past. 



Jen Kiteis Return. 79 

What you've just related to me, 

In nearly the same words he told \ 
He said I a comfort should be 

To you, when grown feeble and old. 

That in time I might hope to attain 

To rank, honour, riches and fame ; 
That my deeds for me one day should gain 

An immortal — an undying name. 
/ 
There — give me nrv/coat, mother dear, 

My hat too a#d gaiters I'll don, 
My quiver, my bow, and my spear — 

Good bye, mother — Now for 'Ho- wan. (Exit, R.) 

( While singing the last verse the lad has been putting on his 
coat, hat, &c. and taking his weapons). 

(Liu, looking after him.) Dear lad ! there he goes, as 
light-hearted and happy as possible. I don't know how it 
is, but whenever he quits my sight, I always feel as if I had 
lost him — as if he had gone for ever, or that something must 
happen to him ; my mind is racked with a thousand fears 
for his safety, and I am wretched till he returns. (Goes into 
hovel. Scene closes.) 



8o The Jade Chap let. 



SCENE III. 

Rural scene near the banks of a river. 
(Enter old man, L., with tiger. Sings.) 

Ho ! tiger, fly 
To 'Hung-'ho-wan S 
For danger 's nigh 
The boy Ting-shan ! 
Save his young life 
From treacherous dart, — 
From murderous knife, — 
From all. — Depart ! 

The river is near, 

With its water so clear, 

Noiselessly wending its way to the west ; 

My pupil Ting-shan 

Must pass by anon, 

So I'll sit me awhile on its margin and rest. 

{Retires up R. C. Enter Ting-shan, L. Boy sings.) 



Jen Ktcezs Return. 8 1 

I've just left my mother at our old cottage door, 
And trudged all this way over field, brake and moor ; 
In hopes near 'Ho-wan a wild goose to kill, 
Or in its broad waters on carp try my skill. 

In the world there are thousands of lads poor as me, 
But, excepting myself, never once did I see 
A fatherless lad. Oh ! what have I done ? 
I know not my father, he knows not his son ! 

I wear a straw hat and a blue gaberdine, — 
Though made of coarse stuff it is spotless and clean ; 
I grasp with my left hand my bow — ready strung, 
Which over my shoulder is carelessly slung. 

In my right hand I hold my fish-basket and spear, 
Thus lightly equipped I could outrun a deer : — 
Here I am at the river, and now then to see, 
Bow or spear, which is first of some service to be. 

Here they come, — the bright sky is obscured by wild geese, 
How they cackle, — the cackle of one shall soon cease : 
Quick ere they pass by — ah, that arrow went true, — 
He's struck, — now another, and down topple two. 

G 



82 The Jade Chap let. 

I'll now try my spear on the carp and the bream, 
That glitter and play in the clear running stream ; — 
But hark ! the gay jingle of bells strikes my ear, 
A horseman approaches, I'll watch who comes here. 



(E?iterjen, R. During the following verses he is supposed to 
be galloping over a large tract of country, the verses being 
partly descriptive of the ride. Sings) 

Once more on the road am I recklessly riding, 
But this time, alas ! 'tis in ignoble flight ; 

I slacken the pace of the steed I'm bestriding, 

I turn back my head, but Chang- An 's not in sight. 

I see not the prince as a soldier I fought for, 

The palace — the courtiers on each side the throne : 

The honour and rank I so eagerly sought for, 
For eighteen long years in a moment have flown. 

Of my hardly earned laurels they cannot deprive me, 
They may strip me of wealth — they may blacken my 
name ; 

But, Corea, thy hard-foughten fields will survive me, 
Inscribed ages hence on the bright scroll of fame. 



Jen Kueis Return. 83 

Base traitors ! to further their own ends conspiring ; 
Weak monarch ! to heed their perfidious lies, — 
That I was a plotter so madly aspiring 
As to raise to the throne my presumptuous eyes. 

Thrust forth from the court — -with contumely degraded, 
Condemned to the foul executioner's knife : — 
That, at least, I was spared, by a trusty friend aided, 
I, who'd faced death so oft, turned and fled for my life. 

On ! on ! my brave steed ! whip and spur I am plying ! 

Ah ! yonder the barrier of Chin-tou I see : 

How green the fields look as I onward am flying, 

But my heart 's pre-engaged — they have no charm for me. 

On ! city and village I pass by unheeding, 

At Shih-li-pu town I rein up and alight : 

Steed and rider both rest and refreshment are needing, 

Ere long we again must continue our flight. 

Again, on, past hamlet and homestead we're fleeting, 
Till Pu-chou's high ramparts loom up to my view ; 
On ! heedless alike of scowl, curse, or kind greeting, 
I enter the city and madly dash through. 



84 The Jade Chap let. 

On ! there are the four iron bulls near the river, 
Grim guards of the stream which flows smoothly on ; 
And yonder, accoutred with bow, spear and quiver, 
Stands a youth on the banks of the broad 'Hung-'ho-wan. 

He now draws his bow on the geese o'erhead sailing : 
See ! the arrow unerring transfixes one's breast ! 
Now another one falls ! — his aim is unfailing ; 
This lad as an archer might vie with the best. 

Now he takes up his spear which he skilfully uses, 
On the bright glittering carp — in a trice he's speared three : — 
He's born to success, let him do what he chooses. 
Whence came he? Who is he ? or what can he be? 

He surpasses e'en me, — do I live to avow it 1 

Should the " dragon eye" see him 'twould fill him with joy : 

He would soon replace me, — shall I calmly allow it ? 

I cannot, I'll halt and e'en speak to the boy. (Dismounts.) 

JEN. 

Ho ! youngster ! Good day to you ! 

BOY. 

Good day, sir. 



Jen Kueis Return. 85 

JEN. 

What are you doing here ? 

BOY. 

I am shooting wild geese. 

JEN. 

How many geese could you bring down with one arrow ? 

BOY. 

With one arrow I can bring down but one goose. 

JEN. 

Why that 's nothing extraordinary, I can bring down two 
at one shot. 

BOY. 

Oh ! I can't believe that. 

JEN. 

I'll do it before your eyes. 

BOY. 

If you can bring down two geese with one arrow, I should 
be very glad if you would teach me how to do it. 



86 The Jade Chap let. 

JEN. 

Well, if you don't believe, boy, give me your bow and 
arrow, and you shall see. 

BOY. 

Here they are. 

JEN. 

Thanks. {Sings. Aside.) 

He falls in the snare 

I have spread. 
Now, youngster, beware 

For a thread, — 
Just the string of a bow, 
I have but to let go 
And his life, like this arrow, as swiftly is sped. 

BOY. 

Now, please to look out, 
Mind what you're about, 
The geese are not here, but behind overhead. 

(During the foregoing Jen has unthinkingly bee?i pointing the 
arrow in the direction of the Boy.) 



J en Kueis Return. 87 

JEN. 

He suspects me, 'tis clear, 

And the ruse 
I planned, is I fear 

Of no use ; 
However, I'll try, 
Either he falls, or I, 
One life must be lost, — I can prophesy whose. 
There 's no one in view, 
To watch what I do, — 
Look up boy, and see how I bring down my goose ! 

(Boy looks up imsuspectingly, Jen shoots him — Boy falls. 
Tiger springs on boy and bears him off, L. Jen sings 
during above business.) 

JEN. 

He sinks to the ground, 

Life is o'er. — 
With wild angry bound 

And loud roar, 
A tiger appears, 
Like lightning he clears 
The space between him and the lad smeared with gore, 



88 The Jade Chap let. 

On the youngster he springs, 
And, as gifted with wings, 
He speeds with his prey over hill, dale and moor. 

JEN. 

I could swear that I put an arrow through the boy, but 
who would have thought that a tiger would have come at 
the same moment and carried him off? Perhaps it 's better 
it is so. However, I may as well go while there is no one 
about, it might not be convenient should anyone see me 
here. Well, well, I might have spared the lad, but it would 
never do for a soldier like me to allow another to live who 
was so much my superior in the very weapons I excel in. 
{Retires off, R., leading his horse) 



SCENE IV. 

Ruined kiln. 

(Boy's mother anxiously looking off, R. Sings.) 

Why comes he not ? I strain my weary eyes, — 
I shade them from the sun's fierce slanting ray ; 
I see the green fields, hills and bright blue skies, 
But, ah, not him, more bright to me than they. 



Jen Kueis Return. 89 

Why comes he not ? What makes him linger so ? 
He left this morning at the early dawn ; 
I marked the trees their shadows westward throw, 
Now, nickering on the sward, they're eastward drawn. 

Why comes he not ? Without him all is gloom, 
The bright sun darkness, flowers and fields a wild ; 
The gay world but a gaudy living tomb, 
What else, were I bereft of him — my child ? 

Why comes he not ? The gentle summer breeze, 
Seems pityingly to murmur by my cot ; 
The myriad tongue-like leaves on those old trees, 
Fanned gently by it, wail, " Why comes he not ? " 

Why comes he not ? I do not see him yet, 

IT1 sit and wait here by the cottage door ; 

He must come soon — my weak fears I'll forget — 

I can't ! — Oh, God ! my son, he'll come no more ! 

(Sits at the door of kiln rocking herself to and fro, Jen enters, 
Z., takes front of the stage and sings.) 

His mother at home will expect him in vain, 

In this world she will never more see him again ; 



90 The J tide Chap let. 

My arrow went home in the young fellow's breast, 
And the tiger's sharp fangs in a trice did the rest. 
She may watch for his coming and anxiously wait, 
But her hair will wax grey ere she knows of his fate. 

Ah ! yonder 's an old kiln, and there at the door 

Sits a matron — I surely have seen her before ; 

I see not her face, but her form seems to be, 

Spite of rags, somewhat strangely familiar to me \ 

It resembles my wife's, whom I left long ago, — 

I'll dismount, — but one glance at her face will soon show. 

{Dismounts and approaches the woman.) 

JEN. 

Madam, allow me to offer you my salutations. 

LIU. 

Thank you ! You will excuse me returning your cour- 
tesies. — You are a soldier I presume, and have lost your 
way? 

JEN. 

No, I am a courier, bearer of a letter to a person, — per- 
haps you know her ? 



Jen Ktteis Return. 91 



LIU. 



If it's any person of note I shall probably know her. 



JEN. 

Well I should say the person is rather noted. 



Who may it be then ? 



LIU. 



JEN. 



The daughter of Liu-wan-wai, the wife of Hsiieh-jen kue, 
and her name is Liu-ying-fang. 



LIU. 



Are you related to her 1 



JEN. 

No, I am no relation of hers. 



LIU. 



Belike you are old friends, then ? 



JEN. 



No, nor a friend, either. 



92 The Jade Chap let. 

LIU. 

If you are neither relation nor friend, you can have no 
occasion to inquire for her. 

JEN. 

Madam, you must know that her husband Hsiieh and I 
served as soldiers together, and fought under the same 
banner. I am now proceeding homewards, and as my road 
led past his village I am taking a letter for him. 

liu (hastily). 

What do you say — that you have brought a letter and 
want to see her? 

JEN. 

Just so. 

LIU. 

Will you wait a moment then, sir? 

JEN. 

At your pleasure, madam. 

liu {aside.) 

This is strange. My husband has been gone these 
eighteen years, and in all that time I have never received a 



Jen Kueis Return. 93 

line from him, but to-day this gentleman brings one, and I 
cannot avoid going to take it from him. But stay. My 
clothes are all in tatters, and I fear he will only ridicule me. 
I have it ! (To hi?n.) Sir, Mrs. Liu is from home; leave 
the letter with me ; I'll see that she gets it safely. 

JEN. 

There you are wrong, madam : the old adage has it : 
" The letter sent a thousand miles is in danger of not reach- 
ing its destination, but to deliver one to the wrong person, 
after coming ten thousand miles, is sheer waste of time." 
I have brought the letter to-day, and I must positively see 
the proper person. 

LIUc 

And if you don't see her ? 

JEN. 

If I don't, I shall take the letter back. (Hastily leadi?ig 
the horse off.) 

LIU. 

Stop, sir, stop. 

jen (Pausing). 
Do you think she's at home ? 



94 The Jade Chap let. 

LIU. 

{Aside) What shall I do ? If I tell the truth, I fear the 
gentleman will ridicule me ; if I don't tell the truth, he will 
take the letter back, and if he does, how do I know I may 
not have to wait another eighteen years for my husband ? 
Ah, Hsiieh-lang S Hsiieh-lang ! when you left I had no 
good clothing, and shall I fear ridicule now ? — I'll speak to 
him. (To Jin) Sir, you insist on seeing the proper 
person ? 



To be sure. 



Look yonder. 



There is no one. 



Look nearer then. 



JEN. 



LIU. 



JEN. 



LIU. 



JEN. 

Then you must be Mrs. Liu. 

LIU. 

Yes, sir, I am Jen-kuei's wife. 



Jen Kueis Return. 95 

JEN. 

Indeed ! Just now I did not recognise you. Allow me 
to make my bow to you. 

LIU. 

You did so just now. 

JEN. 

Well, it's nothing strange for a person to be polite, is it ? 

LIU. 

Never mind politeness, give it me. 

JEN. 

Give you what? 

LIU. 

Give me my letter. 

JEN. 

Wait a moment, madam, while I take the letter from the 
saddle. {Aside.) Who'd have thought it, that to-day I have 
returned and thus met my wife Liu ? I must go up to her, 
and then I shall be recognised. Wait a bit, though. Now 
I think of it, I have been away from home eighteen years, 



9 6 The Jade Chap let. 

and I don't know whether she has remained faithful or not. 
As there is no one about just now, I'll try a bit of flirtation 
with her. — I have it. (To her.) Alas ! alas ! madam ! 

LIU. 

What are you so agitated about ? 

JEN. 

Some time or other I could not have taken care of the 
letter, and it is lost. 

LIU. 

Oh ! you cannot have lost it. What right have you to 
lose my husband's letter ? 

JEN. 

Madam, although I have lost the letter, I have another 
very important affair to tell you of. 

LIU. 

What important affair ? 

JEN. 

From old times the common saying has been "Announce 
joy but don't announce sorrow." 



Jen Kueis Return. 97 



LIU. 

What mean you by " Announce joy but not sorrow ? " . 

JEN. 

This affair I think I can't help speaking of. My old 
comrade Hsiieh one day caught a severe cold, from which 
he never recovered. 

LIU. 

What do you say ? Dead ? ( Wrings her hands and 
weeps!) Oh. Hsiieh-lang ! Hsiieh-lang ! You have been 
away now eighteen years, and I have never heard a word 
from you. Now, to-day I have news, but it is of your 
death ! 

JEN. 

(Laughing.) Ha ! ha ! ha ! You need not cry any 
more, — from old times it has always been a common saying 
" If the dead wore red 1 there are others that wear green." 
One time I lent my comrade Hsiieh fifty taels ; when he 
was dying, he called me to his bedside, and said, " Old 
brother ! old brother ! In this world I shall never be able 

1 Equivalent to our "There are as good fish in the sea as ever came 
out of it." 



gS The Jade Chap let. 

to repay the fifty taels you lent me, but I have a wife at 
home named Liu. Take her instead of the fifty taels, — I 
sell her to you." With that he closed his eyes and died. 
You are now my wife. Come ! come ! come ! come ! Off 
to my house ! 

LIU 

{Affrighted) Is this the truth ? 

JEN. 

Do you think I'd tell a lie? 

LIU. 

Villain ! Thief ! 

JEN. 

Ah ! do you abuse me ? 

Liu (sings). 

Audacious wretch, you'd best beware ! 
The tale you tell, 
I know full well 
Is nought but lies. Is't thus you dare 
To venture here to deceive me ? 



Jen Kueis Return. 99 

Should I but call, 
From far and near, 
The neighbours all 
Would soon appear ; 
You'd find it hard to 'scape from here, 
So, villain, impostor, leave me ! 

JEN. 

Come, let 's go in ! Wife, hold your tongue ! 
I've now come home, 
No more to roam. 

LIU. 

I'm not your wife. — I'm not Liu-fang. 
She 's in the cottage near you. 

JEN. 

What 's that you say ? 
In there, is she ? 

LIU. 

Yes, yes, don't stay ! 
Go in and see. — 

H 2 



ioo The Jade Chap let. 

He 's safely bolted in by me. 

Good sir, I now don't fear you. 

{During the last few lines J&n has gone into the cottage and 
has been bolted i?i by Liu.) 

J&N. 

(From within.) Why have you fastened the door 1 

LIU. 

If I had not fastened you in, our positions would have 
been reversed j you came here to capture a woman, but she 
has captured you. 

JEN. 

Open the door, Liu, I am your husband come back. 

LIU. 

You talk at random. (Sings.) 

A moment ago you 're a soldier you say, 

And bring me a letter from one long away ; 

Now, you 're my husband returned home once more, — 

But that you must prove ere I unbar the door. 



yen Kneis Return. 101 

If you really are he, tell me some of the past ; 
Where first did we meet ? When saw you me last ? 
At that time what were you ? Why did you go ? 
What said we at parting ? Every word let me know, 

Should you think to deceive me, or tell but one lie, 
You cannot escape, in that cottage you die. 
But if you 're my husband returned from afar, 
First prove it, and gladly the door I'll unbar. 

jen. 
( Within.) Open the door first and then I'll tell you, 

LIU. 

When you prove yourself my husband, then 111 open the 
door. 

JEN, 

Oh, wife ! 

LIU. 

You will call me wife ? 



JEN. 



Yes, I will. 



102 The Jade Chap let. 

LIU. 

You like to call me wife ? 

Jen. 
Yes, what else would you have me call you ? 

LIU. 

When you were outside just now what did you call me ? 

jen' 
I called you " madam." 

LIU. 

Then address me as you did before. 

JEN. 

Address you as I did before 1 

LIU. 

Just so. 

JEN. 

Oh, wife ! wife ! wife ! wife ! Madam ! (Sings.) 



Jen Kueis Rehtrn. 103 

Oh, let my memory retrace 

Time's noiseless track ! 
And bring each old familiar place, 
My boyhood's home, — each well-known face — 

In fancy back. 

A lad and maiden first I see. 

The maiden 's you. 
" I love you," gently murmurs he, 
" Will you be mine ? Do you love me ? " 

She says, " I do." 

I see a newly wedded pair, 

With hope elate ; 
They 're young ; he 's brave and she is fair, 
Though poor they 're not depressed by care. 

They laugh at fate. 

Time passes and I now behold 

The erewhile youth 
A man, — grown prematurely old, 
By toil and suffering, heat and cold. 

Speak I the truth ? 



104 The Jade Chap let. 

Now turn we to another page ; 

Stately and slow, 
I see a venerable sage 
Approach — his form bowed down by age, 

His hair like snow. 

He bade the man forthwith repair 

Towards Chang-An. 
" Brave men like you are wanted there ; 
Why linger here ? Your arms prepare ; 

And armour don." 

Next comes the final parting scene, 

With flagging feet, 
He goes, — who knows what lies between- 
How many years may intervene 

Ere those two meet? 

He left, — (my story 's nearly done) 

At twenty-three : 
Since then he's fame and honour won, 
He now returns at forty-one — 

And I am he. 



yen KtieVs Return. 105 

LIU. 

{Aside?) While he has been talking there, I have been 
reckoning here. Yes, he is my husband who has been away 
these eighteen years ; I'll open the door. ( Opens the door 
partly, then suddenly closes it again) 

Jen. 

Why do you shut the door again after having half 
opened it ? 

LIU. 

I closed it again for I bethought myself that although 
your language agrees, your appearance is entirely different. 

JEN. 

In what do I differ ? 

LIU. 

My husband was quite a lad, and you are like a brigand, 
with that beard all round your mouth. 

JEN. 

Heigho ! After an absence of eighteen years when hus- 
band and wife meet, this beard must needs come between 
and cause trouble. Open the door and look at me. 



106 The Jade Chap let. 

LIU. 

{Aside.) Yes, it must be really he, so I'll open the door. 
{Opens door, they embrace, etc. To htm.) Hsiieh, what 
office have you been holding these last eighteen years ? 

JEN. 

{Aside.) Well, I return after eighteen years' absence, and 
she does not ask me one question concerning the hardships 
I have suffered, but her first inquiry is " What office have 
you been holding?" {To her.) Wife, what office did I 
hold formerly, before I left ? 

LIU. 

Messman. 

JEN. 

Now I'm higher in rank. 

LIU. 

What are you promoted to ? 

JEN. 

I'm caterer. 

LIU. 

What does he have to do ? 



Jen Rueis Return. 107 

JEN. 

Oh, chops up forage and feeds the horses. 

LIU. 

And a messman ? 

JEN, 

He cooks the rice. 

LIU. 

How dreadful ! {Cries.) 

JEN. 

(Aside.) Just look at this woman ; I've scarcely spoken 
a word and there she is crying. (To her.) Wife, I am a 
prince, now. 

LIU. 

A prince ! I can scarcely believe that ; what proof have 
you of it ? 







JEN 


I've my 


seal. 


LIU. 


A seal : 


let me 


look at it. 



108 The Jade Chap let. 

JEN. 

{Produces seal.) There, what do you think of that? 

LIU. 

Oh, dear ! You come back after eighteen years only to 
vex me. 

JEN. 

How do you make that out ? 

LIU. 

Where did you get that old bit of copper from ? 

JEN. 

Copper ! It 's massive gold. It 's the seal of a duke. 

LIU, 

Really and truly ? 

JEN. 

Really and truly. 

LIU. 

It must be valuable then ; but we are talking and have 
not yet had anything to eat. Come in and sit down while 
I prepare something for you. {Exeunt into cottage.) 



Jen Kueis Return. 109 

SCENE V. 
Interior of cottage scantily famished, yen and Liu discovered. 

LIU. 

There ! You stay here for a few minutes till I return and 
make the place look a little more comfortable. (Goes into 
an inner room.) 

JEN. 

Bah ! these women are always bustling about their house- 
hold affairs, " making you comfortable " they call it ; I think 
it the reverse, with their perpetual scrubbing and sweeping. 
Hollo! What's this? (Sees a man's shoes on the floor?) 
This is devilish strange ! I couldn't have left my shoes 
here eighteen years ago, for I had but one pair and those 
were on my feet ; besides they would not have remained 
here all that time. These have been recently worn, — they 
are too small for me, besides. Where could they have come 
from ? Perdition ! She must have a paramour ! I'll see 
into this. 

(Re-enter Liu. Jen seizes her, and is about to kill ker.) 



no The Jade Chap let. 

LIU. 

Good Heavens ! What have I done that you should 
want to kill me ? 

JEN. 

Say, these shoes, where do they come from ? 

LIU. 

These shoes — these shoes— 

JEN. 

Ah ! you hesitate, do you ? You know the owner of 
them perhaps ? 

LIU. 

Oh ! yes, I know him well. 

JEN. 

Base woman ! She does not attempt to disguise it. He 
is often here, I suppose ? 

LIU. 

Yes, for I am miserable when he 's out of my sight. I've 
been wretched all day waiting for him. 



J en Kziei s Rehtrn. 1 1 1 

JEN. 

You seem very anxious about him. I should not be sur- 
prised if you were to tell me plainly next that he had slept 
with you. (Sneer ingly.) 

LIU. 

Yes, many a night has he slept in my arms, with his dear 
head pillowed on my bosom. 

JEN. 

{Mimicking her.) Oh ! with "his dear head pillowed on 
your bosom," eh ? She '11 drive me distracted ! ( Walking 
about in a rage.) 

LIU. 

(Aside.) Just look at the man how angry he 's getting. 
Wait till I tantalise him a bit. (To him.) You have been 
away now these eighteen years, and for seventeen years he 
has never been separated from me. 

JEN. 

I am dying with rage ! 

LIU. 

You ask who the person is who wears those shoes. — I'll 



i f 2 The Jade Chaplet. 

tell you. He is our son. At the time you left I was preg- 
nant, and you had often said should I ever become a mother, 
if our child was a boy, he should be named Ting-shan, if a 
girl, she should be called " Golden Lily." These are Ting- 
shan's shoes. 

JEN. 

My son ! Where is he ? Where is he gone 1 

LIU. 

He went to the river to shoot some wild geese. 

JEN. 

To the river to shoot — {Aside.) Great Heavens, should 
it be he ! (Hastily.) Tell me, what did he wear ? 

LIU. 

Why, how frightened you look ! He wore a blue gaber- 
dine, a 

JEN. 

Oh ! ruin ! He 's destroyed ! (Falls senseless.) 
(scene closes.) 



THE GREAT WATER-MELON} 

The complexion of Miss could compare 

With the snowflake in whiteness : 
She'd cherry lips, — long silken hair, 

And her eyes' dazzling brightness 
Set fire to the heart of an amorous youth, 

So he boldly determined to tell her the truth. 

But as nothing — not even love-making — 
Can succeed in this life without taking 
Some appropriate present to show one has thought 
Of those whom one visits, he went out and bought 
A box of toilet powder, 
Such as ladies love to use ; 
Two sprays of floss embroidered flowers, 
So that she could pick and choose : 

1 This is simply rubbish, but shows the similarity between Chinese 
comic " songs and some of our own. 

I 



ii4 Th e Jade Chap let. 

A score of fine crabs 
" All alive " he had bought her : 

Half-a- catty of shrimps 
Just fresh from the water. 
These he carefully took in his hands ; but the rest — 
A large water-melon — he tucked in his breast. 

He was just going out of the door 
When he tripped, and down he came sprawling ; 

He sat up, and there - on the floor 
Were the shrimps and crabs, skipping and crawling ! 

The powder all scattered ! 

Flowers crumpled and battered ! 

Off crawled the crabs overjoyed to be free ! 

Away hopped the shrimps in the height of their glee ! 

Flop ! the large water-melon he had was all smashed, 

And now closely resembled a poultice well mashed ; 

And, sad to relate, the young man roundly swore 

" Ai-ya ! I won't go to make love any more ! " 



H5 



SNOW IN SUMMER} 

Her eyes flashed fire, — her bosom heaved and swelled ; 

The hot red blood face, neck, and brow suffused, 

As she with scorn indignantly repelled 

The awful charge of which she stood accused, 

" Tis a base lie, — a plot, — a vile conspiracy ! 
I'm but a girl, — some say my face is fair ; 
Look, — you, my judges ! tell me can you see 
Aught that betokens murder written there ? 

" Think you these hands could wield a murderer's knife ? 
(Are they not baby-like ? so soft and small ?) 
Could they give poison, — take away a life ? 
A mother's too ! oh ! that were worse than all ! 



1 Tou-o was a girl who had been falsely accused of poisoning her 
mother-in-law. She was sentenced to death, conveyed to the execution 
ground, and awaiting the blow of the headsman, when Heaven inter- 
posed in her behalf ; for, it being then the height of mid-summer, a 
heavy fall of snow came on. This was looked upon as a sign of her 
innocence and she was at once released. 



1 1 6 The Jade Chaplet. 

" You that have daughters, pause ere you condemn ; 
Fancy them torn from home, — from all held dear ! 
Young, beautiful — oh ! try to picture thetn, 
Guiltless of crime, but — like me standing here. 

" I'm innocent ! your sentence is unjust ! 
'Tis legal murder, and my death will lie 
At each one's door ! — But no, in One I trust ; 
Heaven will not let a guiltless woman die ! " 

Pale and resigned she knelt upon the ground, 
Her tearless eyes in prayer to heaven upraised ; 
Her ruthless butchers eagerly thronged round, 
On her fair form with admiration gazed. 

With bended head beneath that glaring sun 
She calmly waited for the fatal blow ; 
The sword is raised — when, strange phenomenon ! 
Mid-summer's heat is changed to winter's snow. 

Judge, guards, and executioner stood aghast, 
While every head in reverence was bent 
Before the girl, — the snow flakes falling fast 
Mutely proclaiming she was innocent. 



ii7 



CHANG-LIANG'S FLUTE, OR HOME- 
SICKNESS. 

'Twas night — the tired soldiers were peacefully sleeping, 
The low hum of voices was hushed in repose ; 

The sentries in silence a strict watch were keeping, 
'Gainst surprise, or a sudden attack of their foes. 

When a low mellow note on the night air came stealing, 

So soothingly over the senses it fell — 
So touchingly sweet — so soft and appealing, 

Like the musical tones of an aerial bell. 1 

Now rising, now falling — now fuller and clearer — 
Now liquidly soft — now a low wailing cry — 

Now the cadences seem floating nearer and nearer — 
Now dying away in a whispering sigh. 

1 Feng-ling, wind bells, or more commonly called Tieh-ma, iron 
horses, though in reality there is a great difference between the two, 
Feng-ling being bell-shaped, while the Tieh-ma are flat and of various 
shapes, but always having a piece cut out from the centre, without 
which they would not sound. These bells are suspended from the eaves 
at the corners of pagodas or temples, and when the wind blows produce 
a very sweet but melancholy sound. 



1 1 8 The Jade Chaplet. 

Then a burst of sweet music so plaintively thrilling, 
Was caught up by the echoes 1 who sang the refrains, 

In their many- toned voices — the atmosphere filling 
With a chorus of dulcet mysterious strains. 

The sleepers arouse and with beating hearts listen, 

In their dreams they had heard that weird music before ; 

It touches each heart — with tears their eyes glisten, 
For it tells them of those they may never see more. 

In fancy those notes to their childhood's days brought them, 
To those far-away scenes they had not seen for years ; 

To those who had loved them, had reared them and taught 
them, 
And the eyes of those stern men became wet with tears. 

Bright visions of home through their mem'ries came throng- 
ing, 
Panorama-like passing in front of their view ; 
They were home-sick, no power could withstand that strange 
longing, 
The longer they listened, the more home-sick they grew. 



1 Ying-sheng. The responding sound, or oftener perhaps i hui- 
hsiang. 



Chang-Hangs Flute, or Home-sickness. 1 1 9 

Whence came those sweet sounds ? Who the unseen musi- 
cian 
That breathes out his soul which floats on the night 
breeze 
In melodious sighs — in strains so elysian — 
As to soften the hearts of rude soldiers like these ? 

Each looked at the other, but no word was spoken. 

The music insensibly tempting them on : 
They must return home : — ere the daylight had broken, 

The enemy looked, and behold, they were gone ! 

There 's a magic in music — a witchery in it, 
Indescribable either with tongue or with pen ; 

The flute of Chang-Hang, 1 in that one little minute, 
Had stolen the courage of eight thousand men. 



1 Chang-liang, one of the officers of Liu-pang (the first Emperor of 
the former Han dynasty), the night before a battle was playing his 
flute on the mountain-side, when the troops of the enemy under Pa- 
wang became so affected by the melancholy strains, and with such an 
intense longing for home, that eight thousand of them retreated during 
the night. The ranz des vaches is said to produce a similar effect on the 
Swiss, i.e. homesickness. 



1 20 The Jade Chap let. 



YANG-KUEI-FEL 

(A CHINESE ANACREONTIC.) 

Beautiful was Yang-kuei-fei ; 
She was a bewitching creature ; 
In winning ways, in form and feature, 
Who more graceful, light and free ? 
Who more beautiful than she? 
In all the Empire who more fair ? 
Who had such a pure complexion ? 
In her every word and action, 
In truth, she was beyond compare, 
Peerless ! exquisite ! perfection ! 
Thousands daily sing the praise 
Of Yang-kuei-fei in fifty plays. 1 



1 The book of plays of which she is the heroine contains 50 pieces, 
and is still highly popular among the millions of China. 



Yang-kuei-fei. 121 

Beautiful was Yang-kuei-fei, 
Sad or smiling, silent, talking, 
Sitting, standing, riding, walking, 
Who more graceful, light and free ? 
Who possessed such charms as rhe ? 
Black hair undulating, waving, 
In a mass of cloudy tresses, 
Ever toying, ever laving, 
Lavishing their sweet caresses 
On her neck and shoulders, made 
Of living, moving, breathing jade : 
Who more beautiful than she ? 

Beautiful was Yang-kuei-fei : 
Eyebrows shaped like leaves of willows, 
Drooping over " autumn billows ; " l 
Almond shaped, of liquid brightness, 
Were the eyes of Yarig-kuei-fei. 
Now half-closed, now twinkling slily, 
Peeping from their corners shyly, 
Drooping coyly, archly glancing, 
Gleaming, flashing, beaming, dancing, 
Who had brighter eyes than she ? 

Ch'iu-po, " autumn waves," figurative for beautiful eyes. 



122 The Jade Chap let. 

At one moment with tears her bright eyes would be swim- 
ming, 
The next, with mischief and fun they'd be brimming. 
Thousands of sonnets were writ in the praise of them ; 
Li-tai-pai wrote a song for each separate phase of them. 

Bashfully, swimmingly, pleadingly, scoffingly, 
Temptingly, languidly, lovingly, laughingly ; 
Witchingly, roguishly, playfully, naughtily, 
Wilfully, waywardly, meltingly, haughtily 
Gleamed the eyes of Yang-kuei-fei. 

Beautiful was Yang-kuei-fei ; 

Lips more crimson than the cherry, 

Pouting, sulking, laughing, merry : 

Seem to murmur, " We are luscious — 

Come and with your own lips brush us, 

Taste us, kiss us, press us, crush us ! 

We will teach you what true bliss is ! 

Feed you on delicious kisses ! 

In these ruby lips of ours, 

Lurk the sweets of choicest flowers : 



Yang-kuei-fei. 1 2 3 



We possess the power of giving 
Life to lifeless, bliss to living 



! " 



When she smiled, her lips unclosing, 

Two rows of pearly teeth disclosing : 

Cheeks of alabaster, showing 

The warm red blood beneath them glowing — 

Peaches, longing to be bitten — 

First dew-moistened — then sun-smitten. 

Four lines, Li-tai-pai has written, 

In more expressive words convey 

What others might in vain essay : — 

" Oh ! for those blushing dimpled cheeks, 
That match the rose in hue ! 1 
If one were kissed — the other speaks, 
By blushes — ' Kiss me too?" 

Beautiful was Yang-kuei-fei, 

In all the Empire who more fair? 

Who more beautiful than she ? 



1 To this day flowers and colours are named after her ; the colour 
known by us as " rose-pink" is always called by her name. 



i 24 The Jade Chap let. 

In her every mood and action, 
In truth she was beyond compare, 
Peerless ! exquisite ! perfection ! . 
Poets wrote her praise in song. ' 
She was loved hy Tang-ming-kuang. l 

1 Tang-ming-kuang, a celebrated Emperor of the Tang dynasty, 
about a.d. 730. Yang-kuei-fei was his favourite concubine. 



125 



AN IMPERIAL LOVER. 

(CHINESE ANACREONTIC.) 

Tang-ming-kuang loved Yang-kuei-fei, — 

Living for her, in her, with her, — 

Walking by her, hither, thither — 

In the pleasant summer weather, 

Strolling hand-in-hand together. 

Side-by-side with Yang-kuei-fei, 

Listening to the play of fountains — 

Climbing up the mimic mountains — 

Through romantic scenery, y 

Of hill and lake, rock, dell and tree. 

" If I had not Yang-kuei-fei, 
What were all my Empire worth ? 
With her, earth is heaven to me, — 
This is paradise on earth." 



126 The Jade Chap let. 

Mid- day in the lakelet found them, 

Lotus leases and blossoms round them ; 

Disporting gaily in the water, 

(Daily to this place he brought her). 

Now an avenue they tread, 

Where the trees arch over-head, — 

Saving just enough of space 

To catch a glimpse of heaven's face, 

Showing its intensest blue, 

Peering down upon the two. 

" If I had not Yang-kuei-fei, 
What were all this lovely scene 1 
With her, walking thus by me 
This is heaven, and she its queen." 

On the sward beneath their feet, 
Flowers of every hue were springing ; 
Bright-plumed birds with voices sweet 
Their passage here and there were winging. 
Sheltered here from mid- day heat, 
She taught to them the art of singing. l 

1 The Chinese actually say that the birds imitated her voice in their 
notes. 



An Imperial Lover. 127 

Now is heard from every tree 
Leafy voices, softly uttering 
Whispers, which sound mysteriously — 
Like wings of angels gently fluttering. 

" If I had not Yang-kuei -fei, 
What were all my Empire worth ? 
With her, sitting thus by me, 
This is paradise on earth." 

Streaks of light through foliage glancing — 

Mixing, blending, interlacing — 

Now retreating — now advancing — 

Sunbeams after shadows racing, 

Flinging on the sward a net-work 

Of embroidered golden fret-work — 

Quaintly-beautifully grotesque, 

As of flickering arabesque 

Sculpt'd from sunbeams, light and shade, 

Its ground the green enamelled glade. 

" If I had not Yang-kuei-fei, 
What were all this lovely scene ? 
With her, sitting thus by me, 
This is heaven, and she its queen." 



128 The Jade Chap let. 



SILKEN MESHES. 

(CHINESE ANACREONTIC.) 

One by one the rich tresses fell down at her feet, 
Still her hands with the scissors remorselessly played 
Mid her wealth of black hair, till the work was complete, 
Then she paused — and looked down on the wreck she had 
made. 

Her sparkling eyes flashed with ineffable scorn, 
As she stamped her small feet on her own raven hair ; 
The glory, alas ! from her head had been shorn, 
But her glass told her truly her face was still fair. 

Then her mood became changed and she silently knelt 
On those locks which just now had adorned her fair head ; 
Her pale face betrayed all the anguish she felt, 
As, with fast falling tears, she whispering said : 



Sicken Meshes. 129 

" Take them all to your master and tell him to plait 
From these black silken tresses new strings for his lute ; 
Their cords 'neath his touch will not cease to vibrate 
On those of his heart, till he answers my suit. 

" Bid him look on them thus, and recall to his mind, 
How they were when he used to toy with them of yore : — 
When he severed but one, which he kissed and entwined 
Round his finger and mine — while he solemnly swore : 

" If ever I part with this dear lock of hair — 
Or slight you — or love you less dearly than now, 
May my bosom be tortured by grief and despair, 
And ' Dark Heaven ' fail me, if I fail in my vow ! " 

How potent is Love ! — Yang-fei knew its power, 
She, a short time before, from the Court had been driven ; 
Her hair, with the message, had gone scarce an hour, 
When he sent in answer, " Come back, you 'refoi'given." 



130 The Jade Chap let. 



DREAM MUSIC. 

If 'tis a dream, I pray that I may never 
Again awaken from a scene like this ; 
If it is real, oh ! may it last for ever ! 
Dreaming or real, in either case 'tis bliss. 

This must be heaven, and I, a common mortal, 
Stand awe-struck in the midst of these vast halls 
I view the rainbow roof, the glittering portal, 
The ambient star-encrusted ether walls. 

Roof, walls, and blue and gold mosaic flooring 
Seem blent in one — whose ever-changing hues, 
Gilded by rays of light from all sides pouring, 
Form endless grand kaleidoscopic views. 



Dream Mtisic. 131 

On a gold throne, whose radiating brightness 
Dazzles the eyes — enhaloing the scene ; 
Sits a fair form, arrayed in snowy whiteness, 
She is Chang-o, 1 the beauteous Fairy Queen. 

Rainbow-winged angels softly hover o'er her, 
Forming a canopy above the throne ; 
A host of fairy beings stand before her, 
Each robed in light and girt with meteor zone. 

Angelic lips high in mid-air are breathing 
Tissues of dulcet sounds, and as they fall, 
Voices beneath with these are interwreathing, 
And films of golden music fill the hall. 



1 Chang-o, a goddess in the Palace of the Moon, in a dream con- 
ducts Yang-kuei-fei to the "Great Cool Palace," Knang-'han-kimg, 
where she listens to fairy music. On her awaking, she immediately 
sets the music she has dreamed to a song she composes, which she 
calls "Rainbow-winged Robes." The Emperor gives the music to 
Li-kuei-nien, so that his singers may practise it. While rehearsing it, 
a musician, hearing it from the outside of the palace, is struck with its 
beauty, and notes the music down. Some time after when the capital 
is taken by rebels and Li has fled, he encounters the man, who is 
singing this song in the streets for a living. 

K 2 



132 The Jade Chap let. 

Its every note is in my bosom sinking, 
E'en as parched ground absorbs heaven's genial showers ; 
'Tis odour— fragrance — incense, — I am drinking 
Essence of music dropped from choral flowers. 

If 'tis a dream, I pray that I may never 
Again awaken from a scene like this ; 
If it is real, oh ! may it last for ever ! 
Dreaming or real, in either case 'tis bliss. 



133 



THE DEATH OF " YANG-KUEI-FEL" 

In silence unbroken, 

They sat side by side ; 

Not a word had been spoken : — 

They both of them tried 

The dread that was o'er them 

Of what lay before them 

In their bosoms to hide. 

What is that ? In the distance a murmur is heard, 
Is't the wail of the night wind — the surge of the sea ? 
As nearer it floats it takes form in a word — 
And that word, Oh, God ! is the name Yang-kuei-fei ! 
They listen, but speak not — though both know full well 
Those murmuring sounds are for one a death-knell. 



134 The Jade Chap let. 

Nearer, — still nearer 
Those hoarse murmurs came : 
Now they sound clearer, 
They shout out a name. 
'Tis Yang-fei's name they call ! 
" Break her accursed thrall ! 
Too long we have borne it — 
This night, — we have sworn it — 
Her life pays for all ! 

" Where is she, — your minion, — frail Yang-kuei-fei ? 
Drag her forth — the vile traitress ! our daggers would see 
If in her fair body the blood flows more pure 
Than in those of your subjects who have had to endure 
Wrongs, which her arts have heaped on them for years ; l — 
Whose bread has been moistened by blood, sweat and 
tears ! — 



1 One of the many complaints against Yang-kuei-fei, was her fancy 
for fresh Li-chihs. She was so fond of these, that she had them, when 
in season, brought from the South to Chang- An daily, a distance of 
3,000 li. This apparently simple fancy was the cause of immense 
suffering, distress, and injustice ; — the messengers carrying the luxury, 
presuming on the protection of their mistress, committed all manner of 
depredation and violence. 



The Death of Yang-kuei-fei. 135 

Whose sons have been slaughtered — whose daughters de- 
filed !— 
Whose homes have been pillaged — whose fields made a wild ! 
Tis she is the cause of rebellion and strife, 1 
We fight not your foes till we've taken her life ! " 

" Nought but the blood 

Of Yang-kuei-fei 
Can stem this flood 

Of anarchy 1 

" Oh ! bitter destiny ! 

Oh ! dire necessity ! 
Must I pronounce your doom ? 
Consign you to the tomb ? 



2- Yang-kuei-fei had intrigued with a noble named An-lu-shan, who 
afterwards raised the standard of rebellion, it is said, with the hope of 
obtaining possession of her. Be that as it may, the Emperor assembled 
a large army, and, accompanied by Yang-kuei-fei, went to meet him. 
On arriving at a place called Ma-kuei in Sze-chuen, the Emperor's 

roops mutinied, declaring that Yang-kuei-fei was the cause of the 
rebellion, and demanding her life, otherwise they would not fight. 

"he Emperor, having no alternative, was forced to comply. Some say 
le ordered her to be strangled, and that this was done by the soldiers ; 
)thers again, that she strangled herself — the latter appears the correct 



136 The yade Chap let. 

Alas ! my Yang-kuei-fei, 

I'm power 1 ess to save ! 
My life — throne — empire — all I'd give, 
Had I the power to bid you live — ■ 

To snatch you from the grave. 

Yet they have willed it thus — and I 

Who'd die to save you, bid you die." 

" See I am calm, — it is not death I fear, 

It is their savage mode of death I dread ; 

Say could you bear to see me lying here, 

Weltering in blood, by ruthless butchers shed ? 

" Fancy their bloody hands wreathed in my hair — 
That silken hair you used so much to prize ; 

Dragged — struck — faint — bleeding ! — could you bear 
To see all this before your very eyes ? 

" Pierced by a hundred knives, my live-blood flows 
In purple streams, — could you look on and see, 

Unmoved — my murderers watch my dying throes — 
With hungry eyes gloat on my agony ] 

" I have been vile, but let my penitence 

In these last moments that to me are given, 



The Death of Yang-kuez-fei. 137 

Make some atonement for my great offence, 

And ; Oh ! ' forgive me as you'd be forgiven ! ' 

" One last entreaty — let me die alone — 

Let no one enter — none but you stand by, 

To watch my death ; — the act too, be my own ; 
Let not th' ignoble rabble see me die. 

" The means are here ; I have but to unloose 
This silken girdle from my slender waist ; 

I knot it thus, and thus, and form a noose, 

This by my own hand round my neck is placed. 

" With my own hands the ends are tightly drawn, 
And I die thus " — scarce had the words been said — 
A few brief struggles, and Yang-fei had gone 
" With all her imperfections on her head." 

" Hide her from my sight ! 

Let. me not see 
That face so ghastly white — 
Those eyes so wildly bright 

Glaring at me ! 



138 The Jade Chap let. 

" They follow mine everywhere, 

Look where I may — 
On the earth — in the air, 
Still the same glassy stare. 
Take them away ! 

" Place her gently in the grave 

E'en as she fell ; 
Here — where the willows wave 

Near this old well. 
Lightly cover her with earth — 

Oh ! Yang-kuei-fei ! 
What is all my empire worth 

Now I've lost thee ! " 



*39 



THE GRAVE OF YANG-KUEI-FEI. 

Four hundred maidens stood around the grave of Yang- 

kuei-fei ; — 
For he had sworn no other man her jade-like form should 

see ; 
A gloomy silence fell on all, unbroken by a word, 
Nought but the sharp unceasing click of pick and spade was 

heard. 

The work proceeded slowly, for pick and spade were plied 
By gentle hands unused to work — to toil like this untried ; 
For none but maiden hands should dare Yang-fei's corse to 

displace, 
And none, save his, but maiden eyes should look upon her 

face. 

And still the work proceeded, and still the king stood by' 
With folded arms — with twitching lips, with wild and rest- 
less eye, 



140 The Jade Chap let. 

Aloof from all the maidens, watching the work of those 
Who in a few more minutes would her livid corse disclose. 

One feeble light whose glimmering ray fell on the open 

tomb, 
Served but to throw on all around a deeper, denser gloom ; 
The hour — the grave, the diggers, — it was a weird-like 

scene — 
That shadowy group awaiting the body of the queen. 

" Now, now, be careful, I would have her body disinterred 
Just as she fell, e'en as she lies, no limb be even stirred ; 
Her clothing must not be displaced— redouble all yoU~" 

care, 
And raise her gently up. — Great Heaven ! The body is noi 

there!" 

The maidens shrieked with terror, the king grew deadly pale, 
The sighing breeze seemed changed into a plaintive human 

wail \ 
"What means this horrid mystery? Dig deeper, deeper 

still ! 
She must be there ! Dig on, nor dare to disobey my will ! " 



The Grave of Yang-kuei-fei. 141 

The maidens tremblingly obeyed, the king looked sternly on, 

Till even he became convinced the corse was really gone. 

Clothes, jewels, all had disappeared, no vestige could they 
see, — 

Save a little broidered scent-bag 1 of the hapless Yang-kuei- 
fei. 

1 It is a fact that the Emperor ordered four hundred women to be 
employed to exhume the body of the unfortunate Yang-kuei-fei, not 
willing that any men should see it ; it is also equally true that the body 
had disappeared, in what manner no one appeared to be able to tell. 
It is popularly believed, however, that she became a fairy, leaving the 
scent-bag she wore at the time of her death and burial, as a relic for 
the emperor. 

In after years, an old woman who kept a wine -shop used to exhibit 
for a trifle one of the stockings worn by Yang-kuei-fei ; whether worn 
by her at the time of her death or not we are not told. Numbers of 
people used to flock to the wine -shop to see it, for though detested 
while living, there must have been a sort of sympathy with her on 
account of her unhappy fate when dead. Morbid curiosity seems to 
have been prevalent with them then, as with us now. 



142 The Jade Chap let. 



THE AZALEA} 

As I've come to your village to stay a short time, 
A ballad 2 I'll sing without reason or rhyme ; 
I may sing out of tune, — too low or too high, 
I cannot please all, but, however, I'll try. 

1 The Azalea was selected as a fair specimen of an improvised song, 
and also as one showing the immense amount of historical information 
some of these improvisatores will glibly run off in rhyme. The reader 
will perceive, too, in one or two places, where the singer was com- 
paratively at a loss for matter, how readily he has been able to introduce 
something in rhyme, foreign to the subject, but sufficient to give him 
breathing time, as it were to catch up the thread, and proceed without 
any palpable hindrance. 

As for the versification, it is simply in rhyme and no more, indeed 
it has been found difficult to put it into English verse at all, and still 
keep close to the Chinese text. Its novelty and the amount of infor- 
mation it contains must be its chief recommendation, for that it is novel 
there can be no doubt, as I do not remember ever having met even the 
word improvise in any Anglo- Chinese works except my own, much less 
a specimen in that style. 

This was sent a short time ago as a contribution to the "China 
Review." 

2 Ballads, or mountain songs. These are generally improvised into 
verse from whatever comes uppermost in the singer's mind. Chinese 



The Azalea. 143 

If you ask me to sing, — you shall not ask me twice, 
Bid me yn-lo l a boat, — that I'll do in a trice ; 
Invite me to drink, and I'll empty the glass ; 
If you want me to wed, — just produce the young lass. 

A ballad is hard to begin, you 're aware ; 
Ripe cherries are nice, but the tree 's hard to rear ; 2 
White rice is good food, but the field 's hard to hoe ; 
Fresh fish soup is nice, but the net 's hard to throw. 

If you '11 sing a ballad, I '11 give you a theme, 
" The water plays ball with the stones in the stream ; " 
"The rosy- tailed carp sports about in the wave;" 
" The aspen it quivers and bends like a slave." 

Should one subject fail when a ballad you sing, — 
If — drawing a bow you perchance break the string, — 

are adepts in this art, and a hawker or pedlar will dilate on the quality 
of his wares in verse, a countryman on the beauty of his fields, the 
comforts of home, &c. In fact almost every Chinaman seems gifted 
with versification in some way or- other. In this case the azalea has 
been made the foundation of the ballad and its various colours suggested, 
what has appeared to the singer, appropriate themes. 

1 To scull a boat. 

2 Young cherry trees are extremely difficult to rear in China, pro- 
bably not one in a hundred coming to perfection. When full grown 
they are as hardy as other fruit trees. 



144 The Jade Chap let. 

A piece of stout silk will the string repair soon, 
In like manner join a new subject or tune. 

From this thing to that in my singing I go, 

Like a grass-cutter wielding his scythe to and fro ; 

A pedlar don't usually carry good ware ; 

In threading of beads we don't choose here and there. 

One not constantly singing forgets all he knows ; 
If the road is not travelled the grass quickly grows ; 
If a knife is not used the rust soon appears : 
Friendship too will get rusty by absence or years. 

I'm now going to sing, — and it 's worth hearing too, 
In a battle his foes were all routed by Fu ; l 
Man and horse both retired at the sound of the gong ;- 
Wait a moment and then I'll proceed with my song. 



1 Fu-cha, the king of Wu, or as it is called, ' ' the fighting king- 
dom." Chan-kuo, before Christ about 300 years, on this occasion 
seems to have beaten the troops of his adversary Ku-tsien the king of 
Yiieh. It is said of the king of Yiieh that, on being insulted once by 
the king of Wu, he swore never to rest till he had avenged the insult. 
He persistently nursed his vengeance, sleeping on straw, and tasting the 
juice of gall, — to add bitterness probably to the intensity of his hatred. 
'He finally accomplished his object, destroying the kingdom of Wu, 
and driving its king into exile. 






The Azalea, 145 

In four lines of this ballad two truths I will tell ; 
A gutter, by digging, becomes a canal ; 
A girl, when she weds, of course changes her name, 
If she lives long enough she becomes an old dame. 

Some like to hear songs, some themselves like to sing. 
Those who like best to listen your seats hither bring ; 
If you like a good song, hear me sing at your ease ; 
If you don't, — you can listen or not, as you please. 

When a noble goes out two large gongs are beat ; 

A priest says his Mi-to l aloud in the street ; 

The player chaunts love songs, — by ladies admired ; 

But the ploughman sings ballads to cheer him when tired. 

In singing a ballad the voice should be clear, 
But yet not so harsh as to grate on the ear ; 
Each word be distinct, and the metre be true. 
If you don't like it that way, I'll sing till you do. 

The azalea opens — its petals are green. 

King Chao 2 lent an ear to Ta-chi his base queen, 

1 O-mi-to-fo, "Amida Buddha." 

2 Chao was the last emperor of the Shang dynasty ; his barbarity is 
execrated to this day. Among other modes of torture invented by this 

L 



146 The Jade Chaplet. 

Through her, loyal subjects were tortured and slain ; 
His deeds caused rebellion which shortened his reign. 

The azalea's petals are now tinged with gold. 
Tai-Kung l met Wen-wang when nigh eighty years old, 
Through him came the Chou's, by him Chao was o'erthrown. 
Wen's descendants sat eight hundred years on the throne. 

The azalea opens — its petals are red. 

Sun-Pin 2 understood warlike arts, for 'tis said, 

He " the whole art of war " from a monkey obtained ; 

From the " Seven Countries " 3 riches and honour he gained. 

monster was the "brass pillar." This was a hollow pillar of brass 
filled with live charcoal ; a victim was made to embrace this till death 
put an end to his sufferings. His favourite concubine Ta-chi was more 
barbarous, if possible, than the emperor. One of her greatest amuse- 
ments was betting or guessing whether a woman was pregnant of a boy or 
a girl, and to satisfy her curiosity would cause them to be ripped open 
in her presence. 

1 Ta-kung's family name was Chiang, he had been a fisherman ; at 
the age of eighty he was invited to become prime minister ; by his aid 
the Shang dynasty was overthrown, and the Chou dynasty firmly 
established. Thirty-four of Wen-wang's descendants reigned in suc- 
cession. 

2 Sun-pin was a clever general of the first 'Han dynasty ; he wrote a 
book on military tactics called Liu-chia-ping-shu. The work is used to 
the present time. It is popularly believed, however, that a monkey pre- 
sented him with this valuable book. 

3 The first emperor of the 'Han dynasty gave a kingdom to each of 



The Azalea. 147 

The azalea opens — its petals are blue. 
In search of a name went adventurous Su ; l 
But failing at Chin empty-handed returned, 
And Su by his own wife was heartlessly spurned. 

The azalea opens, with fragrance imbued. 
'Han-hsin 2 grasped his spear and King-Pa pursued ; 
That one night Hsiao -'ho, 3 'Han-hsin's services sought, 
Untold gold for each moment and 'twould be cheaply bought. 



his seven sons ; these were all tributary to him. The names of the 
kingdoms were Chin, Chu, 'Han, Chi, Chao, Yen, and Wei. 

1 Su-chin was a poor student in the time of the Fighting Kingdom, 
A.D. 337. He set out from home as an adventurer, hoping in those 
troubled times to get employment of some sort under government ; 
failing in this he returned home, when his -wife, who was weaving, 
would not speak to him, or even raise her eyes from her work, and his 
brother's wife refused to cook anything for him to eat. He again set 
forth in search of employment, and this time he was successful, obtain- 
ing a lucrative appointment. On his return home afterwards, he was 
received with great respect by his family, his wife kneeling before him. 
Su-chin perceiving the difference, bitterly remarked, " In poverty my 
family disowned me, now I'm rich they respect me." 

2 'Han-hsin, a celebrated general. He was at one time in the 
lowest depths of poverty and an old woman supplied him on one 
occasion with a meal ; afterwards when he became a general he made 
the old woman a present of a thousand taels. 

3 Hsiao- 'ho was a secretary. He established the five kinds of 
punishment and framed all the laws of the 'Han dynasty. When the 



148 The Jade Chap let. 

The azalea's petals are yellow again. 
' Han-hsin pursued King-pa l o'er mountain and plain ; 
Close by Wu-chiang-kou King-Pa's course was run, 
He died by his own hand, unseen but by One. 

The azalea's petals are burdened with scent. 
The Princess Wang-chao 2 past the frontiers went j 
She plunged in the stream as it rolled slowly by, — 
For the sake of her honour she knew how to die. 



Ch'in dynasty was overthrown, all the generals, intent on plunder, 
searched everywhere for valuables or treasure, but Hsiao- 'ho sought 
only for state papers and books, by which means he possessed a know- 
ledge of the working of government. He, fully alive to the value of 
'Han-hsin' s ability as a general, engaged him. The sequel showed that 
his services were invaluable. 

1 King- Pa was the opponent of the empire of the 'Han dynasty. 
He was merciless in disposition, and burnt, ravaged and destroyed 
wherever he went, so that he was detested by the people. When 
pursued by 'Han-hsin and finding he could not escape, he committed 
suicide by cutting his throat at a place near the mouth of the Black 
river, Wu-chiang. Thus closed the life of King- Pa, but his cruel deeds 
live in the memory of every Chinese, so much so that things of a 
peculiarly severe nature are sometimes called after him. There is a 
straight thorny cactus grown in Peking known only by the name of 
" King- Pa's whip," and a round sort, also very thorny, is called 
" King- Pa's fist." 

2 See "Crossing the Boundary Line," p. 3. 



The Azalea. 149 

The azalea opens — its petals are grey. 
Liang-chi, 1 the two princes endeavoured to slay ; 
He vainly aspired to the throne, too, as well, 
By the hand of a fish- wife he ignobly fell. 

The azalea opens — its petals are black. 

Wan-chia saved the fish-wife and brought her safe back ; 

When she an imperial princess was made, 

His kindness to her she with honours repaid. 

The azalea's sharp-pointed petals unfold. 
Chia-jen, 2 when proscribed, as a pedlar books sold ; 
An old fisher and daughter soon came to his aid, 
And at night far from foes he was safely conveyed. 

The azalea's petals are varied in hue. 

At 'Hu-lao-kuan three men fought with Lu-pu ; 3 

1 Liang-chi, a minister of the 'Han dynasty, plotted to destroy the 
two young princes as the first step to ascending the "dragon throne," 
to which he aspired. Wan-chia-chun, a physiognomist, advised him 
against this nefarious design, but his advice was not heeded. A 
fisher- woman rescued the princes and stabbed the minister ; both the 
physiognomist and the fisher- woman afterwards attained to high 
honours, the former chiefly through the influence of the latter. 

2 These characters occur in dramatic, but not in historical works. 

3 Lu-pu was a general, and the adopted son of Tung-cho, a clever 



150 The Jade Chap let. 

Tung-cho tried by force to abduct one Tiao-chan. 
Twas part of Wang-ssu-tu's own deep-laid plan. 

The azalea opens disclosing its heart. 
Wang-ssu-tu instructed Tiao-chan in her part ; 
Tung-cho and Lu-pu fought for her in the bower ; 
Lu-pu's spear from the casque of Tung-cho bore the flower. 

The azalea's petals their rich odours shed. 
Liu-te * was invited Liu-shang-hsiang to wed ; 
Within " Sweet Dew Temple " the empress espied 
Liu-te with the brave Chao-tzu-lung at his side. 



but unscrupulous minister. Wang-ssu-tu, also an able minister, wishing 
to break the coalition of two such powerful men, resorted to stratagem 
to set them at variance with each other. Carefully instructing a faithful 
handmaiden in her part, he offered her, as his daughter, to Lu-pu, and 
again to Tung-cho ; this caused the two to quarrel and eventually to 
fight for the girl, Lu-pu being the victor. He afterwards joined with 
Wang-ssu-tu and assisted in destroying Tung-cho. 

1 Liu-te, an emperor of the 'Han dynasty. Sun-chuan, king of the 
Wu country, invited him to come and marry his sister, but in reality to 
kill him. The king's mother seeing the emperor Liu-te with his 
faithful body-guard Chao-tzu-lung in the ''Sweet Dew Temple," and 
hearing it rumoured what was to be his fate, at once goes to the palace, 
reproaches her son with his perfidy, and insists on the marriage really 
taking place, which is accordingly done ; and Liu-te eventually escapes 
from the country through the exertions of his wife. 



The Azalea, 151 

The azalea's petals are withered and brown. 

At the shout of Chang-fei l Pa-ling bridge toppled 

down ; 
At the sound of a voice the bridge severed and fell ; — 
Friendships sometimes are broken in that way as welL 

The azalea's petals the hue of blood wear. 

Thrice the brass banner waved — thrice Chin- chiun g 2 charged 

there. 
Lo-cheng to the flagstaff was bound ; but his wife 
Braved the arrows aimed at him and shielded his life. 



1 Chang-fei at this time was pursued by the enemy, and his forces 
being numerically inferior he had probably undermined the bridge, and 
the shout was the signal for it to fall. However it may have been, it 
is an undoubted fact that the bridge fell at his word. 

2 Chin-chiung was a rebel chief. Troops had been sent out to take 
him by Yang-ling, the prince of Tung-chou in Shan-tung. He was 
alone, and hemmed in on all sides, and a stage was erected on which 
stood a man with a copper flag with which he signalled where Chin- 
chiung was. Twice he unsuccessfully tried to cut his way through 
them ; a friend of his, however, among his foes shot the signalman with 
an arrow. The soldiers, seeing no signal, were at a loss which direction to 
take, and Chin-chiung dashed through them, making his escape. It is 
said Lo-cheng, the man who shot the arrow^ was tied to the flagstaff, 
and made a target of, but his wife bravely screened him with her own 
body, and succeeded in releasing him. 



152 The Jade Chap let. 

The azalea's petals are crimson in hue. 

Jen-Kuei l crossed the sea Corea to subdue ; 

Prince Chin leaped the torrent crag to crag through its 

spray, 
One man only— Yu-chih — all his foes kept at bay. 2 

The azalea's petals are ruddy in hue. 

Jen-kuei crossed the sea Corea to subdue ; 

The Shan-tung " Sounding Horse " with their chief Chin- 

shu-pao, 3 
Lined the roads one by one like the trees at Tuan-chiao. 

The azalea's petals are crimson in hue. 
Jen-kuei crossed the sea Corea to subdue ; 



1 Jen-kuei was a general of the Tang dynasty, sent to compel the 
Coreans to pay their tribute, which they had failed to do for some 
years. 

2 This would probably be a narrow pass where one resolute man 
could for a short time check a number. 

3 " Sounding Horse." These men, as the name implies, were 
mounted, each horse having bells round its neck, said to caution way- 
farers the riders were coming, in addition to which they would let fly 
an arrow, as a hint for them to escape if they could, laxness on the 
part of the authorities rendering them very bold. Chin-su-pao was 
their leader ; he afterwards became a .general in the imperial army. 



The Azalea. 153 

Ku-ching-tei * resigned office— to his homestead returned, 
And there to grow melons — like Sang-yang — he learned. 

The azalea opens, — its petals are grey. 
Liu, 2 in poverty, once was a watchman, they say ; 
In a garden he found an old book and a sword, 
He became after that the revolted Tang's lord. 

The azalea, now blue, now an azure may be. 
Li gave birth to a son who was well named Yao-chi ; 
When grown up and conducted to prison, Old Tou 
Cried, " Liu 's come again who was here long ago." 

1 Ku-ching-tei was the rival of Jen-kuei in power and influence, 
when the latter became too powerful Ku-ching resigned office and re- 
turned back to husbandry. 

2 Liu-chih-yuan was one of the emperors of the after 'Han dynasty ; 
he suffered many vicissitudes of fortune. On one occasion his wife, 
who was pregnant, was left with his brother's family. The wife of the 
brother treated her brutally, making her, the very day she gave birth 
to her child, turn the mill to grind corn, and carry water for the cattle. 
When she was confined, she had no one to attend on her, her sister-in- 
law even refusing to lend her a pair of scissors to cut the " navel string " 
of her child ; she was therefore compelled to bite it off. The child 
ever after that, bore the name of Yao-chi, "Bitten Navel." When 
Yao-chi grew up, he was out one day hunting, and in pursuit of a hare, 
followed it to a well, where he met his mother who was drawing water, 
and whom he had not seen for years. 



154 The Jade Chap let. 

The azalea's petals are yellow once more. 
Li bit off the navel of the child that she bore ; 
One day when out hunting he news chanced to get, 
At a well drawing water his mother he met. 

The azalea's petals are tinted with red. 
Jui-lan met Chiang- shih, 1 in an inn they were wed ; 
The mirror at parting they had broken in twain 
Was, like those two hearts, reunited again. 

The azalea is fragrant and whiter than snow. 
Chin was guided a thousand li safely by Chou : 2 

1 This couple had been betrothed in their childhood but circum- 
stances separated them for years ; then they met by accident, recognised 
one another and consummated their wedding in an inn. 

2 Chao-tai-tsu was the first emperor of the Sung dynasty, a.d. 960. 
Before he came to the throne and while the country was in a very 
unsettled state, he safely escorted a maiden named Chin-niang to her 
home, a distance of a thousand li. Under such circumstances they 
were necessarily constantly together, yet he treated her with the utmost 
delicacy, never once forgetting his duty as a knight- errant. Afterwards 
when he commanded the imperial troops of the Chou dynasty at a 
place called Chen-chiao, the whole of the assembled generals put the 
yellow robe on him, and forced him to become emperor. The words 
"on horseback" are an exact equivalent for our "martial," as a 
martial king, &c. Curiously enough the sounds are very similar, ma- 
shang, by speaking the latter character shortly, representing the word 
martial in sound as well as in meaning. 



The Azalea. 155 

When Hou's troops revolted the empire he gained, 
Eighteen years as a monarch on " horseback " he reigned. 

The azalea's six leaves are smoothly arrayed. 
Yiieh-fei ] by the traitor Chin-'huei was betrayed ; 
Twelve warrants were sent ere he answered one, 
When he did, they butchered both father and son. 

The azalea 's opened to its fullest extent. 

Old Wu 2 to sell cakes in " Long Street " daily went ; 

1 Chin-'huei was a treacherous minister of the Sung dynasty, in 
the time of Kao-tsung. Yiieh-fei was engaged in a battle with the 
troops of the Chin country and was gaining the victory. Chin-'huei 
perceiving it, and having his own reasons, — he being in communication 
with the enemy, — sent twelve special warrants for Yiieh-fei to come to 
him, and by that means cause him, by his absence from the ranks, to 
lose the advantages he had already gained. Yiieh-fei refused to attend 
to these repeated summonses till the twelfth, when he reluctantly quitted 
the field accompanied by his son. On his approach Chin-'huei ordered 
both father and son to be slain. 

2 Wu-tai-lang is one of the characters in a novel called the Chin- 
ping-mei. He is a weakly diminutive person and gets a living by 
selling cakes ; his wife is a beautiful but most depraved woman, and 
attempts to captivate Wu-sung, the brother of the cake-seller, an honest 
straightforward fellow, with her blandishments, but is repulsed by him, 
and he quits the house to prevent further trouble. The wife falls in 
love with another man who is very wealthy and influential, by name 
'Hsi-men-ching, and being discovered, poisons her husband under most 



156 The Jade Chap let. 

His wife plied the wine and her blandishments cast 
On his brother, — her wiles were detected at last. 

The azalea's six leaves are as smooth as may be. 
Pan-chia-yun * intrigued with the priest Wen-'hai-li, 
Shih-hsiu with Yang-hsiung " to talk over it " came, 
And murdered the faithless but beautiful dame. 

The azalea opens — its petals are blue. 

Many rebels assembled, among them was Wu. 

Though he had but one arm, their bold leader he 

caught, 
He once slew a tiger, — he 's a real hero thought. 

The azalea opens, the colour of clay. 

Wei 2 the eunuch used power to pillage and slay ; 

horrible and revolting circumstances. The brother eventually kills the 
wife on hearing the story of the murder. At the opening of the tale 
Wu-sung is brought into the town as a hero, having slain a tiger which 
had long been a terror to the neighbourhood. He was such a powerful 
man that when he had lost an arm, with his remaining one he captured 
a notorious robber. See next verse but one. 

1 Pan-chiao-yun, a very handsome woman, became infatuated with 
a Buddhist priest named Wen-'hai-li. The husband, discovering her 
perfidy, murdered her on a hill called Tsui-ping-shan. 

2 This was one of the eunuchs of the palace, in the Ming dynasty. 



The Azalea. 157 

As if 'twas the " Sacred Will "—this did not last long. 
He slew among others, the faithful Shun-chang. 

The azalea's six petals are even and red. 
The thunder of heaven struck Sai-lo-i dead. 
Tou-o l tightly bound was awaiting death's blow 
On the third of the sixth, when it came on to snow. 

The azalea opens — its petals are brown. 
Cheng-yiian-ho 2 wandered through hamlet and town ; 
The " Fall of the Lily " he sang for his bread, 
Of the " Forest of Pencils " he at last was the head. 



He became so presumptuous that he made no hesitation in using the 
emperor's name to further his own nefarious schemes, causing the 
deaths of many loyal ministers. He was, however, finally detected 
and executed. 

1 See " Snow in Summer," p. 115. 

2 Cheng-yiian-ho was a young man of the Tang dynasty, who 
having squandered all his patrimony in profligacy was reduced to 
beggary. One of the courtezans, however, on whom he had formerly 
lavished much money, really loved him, and persuaded him to study, 
she herself supporting him in the meantime and encouraging him in 
his studies ; he afterwards passed his examination successfully and 
became a Chuang-yiian, Chief of the 'Han-lin literati. In gratitude to 
the girl for her kindness to him in his poverty, and efforts for his good, 
he, on obtaining this rank, made her his wife. 



158 The Jade Chap let. 

The azalea opens — its petals are blue. 
To the gates of Peking Li-chuang l ravaged and slew ; 
Chung-chen died on " Coal Hill," on his death being known 
The first of the Ch'ings, Shuh-chih, sat on the throne. 

The azalea opens — its petals are grey. 

Next Kang-hsi, then Yung-cheng, then Chien-lung 2 had sway; 

He travelled his subjects' affection to gain ; 

Delighted, all wished him a long happy reign. 

The azalea opens — its petals are white. 
Chia-ching was discerning, and governed aright ; 
Propitious seasons made poverty cease, 
In his reign the empire enjoyed a long peace. 



1 Li-chuang was a notorious rebel chief who overrun the Chinese 
empire at the close of the Ming dynasty. He at last entered the city 
of Peking. Chung-chen, the last of the Ming dynasty, hung himself on 
Mei-shan, Coal Hill, or as it is oftener called by foreigners "Prospect 
Hill." See "Journal of the N. C. Branch of the Royal Asiatic 
Society," vol. vii., "Chinese Legends" by G. C. Stent. 

2 Chien-lung did more to gain the affection of his subjects than any 
other monarch before or since ; he made a tour of inspection to Hang- 
chou in Kiang-nan, thus proving that the " Son of Heaven" is not com- 
pelled to remain within the precincts of the palace invisible and un- 
approachable. 



The Azalea. 159 

The azalea opens— its blooming is done. 
Tao-kuang l the Just governs " all under the sun ; " 
" Within the four seas " peace and plenty appears, 
May he live to rule over us myriads of years. 

1 This ballad was evidently written in the reign of Tao-kuang. Since 
then, as the reader may be aware, two other emperors have ascended 
the throne — Hsien-feng and T'ung-chih, the present youthful emperor. 



160 The Jade Chap let. 



THE FIVE WATCHES. 1 

i. 

In the first watch, 

The moon shone on the flower terrace. 

I had heard from my lover that at night he would come. 

I bade my maid buy a few ounces of wine, 

With four plates of vegetables, and spread the table. 

I waited a little, but he did not come. 

Again I waited, still he came not. 

And I knew not where he was, or what detained him. 

I took up my embroidered shoes, 

But I had no heart to change them. 

I slowly wiped away the falling tears from my eyes. 

1 The Chinese night is divided into five watches : — 
The first begins about 9 P.M., called Ting-ching, "Setting the 
watch"; the second begins about II P.M., called Erh-ching, Second 
Watch ; the third begins about I A. M. , called San-ching, Third 
Watch; the fourth begins about 3 A.M., called Ssu-ching, Fourth 
Watch ; the fifth begins about 5 a.m., called Wu-ching, Fifth Watch. 
The watches are arranged according to the length of the night, 
commencing earlier or later as the case may be. 



The Five Watches. 1 6 1 

2. 

In the second watch, 

The moon was high. 

How annoying of my lover ! Why has he not come ? 

Tears fell from my " autumn wave almond eyes." 

I wept till in hue they vied with the cherry. 

I railed. " You thief ! Oh, how vexing ! 

How is it you come not ? 

You should not deceive me, 

And you have done so often. 

One may kill by deceit, that 's no capital crime. 

Methinks, if you are this kind of person 

How can we continue intimate ? " 



3- 

In the third watch, 

The moon was in the west. 

I was in my room lonely and disconsolate ; 

Yet full of kind loving thoughts. 

" Ah ! you do not wish to come ! 

You say ' I'll come,' yet you come not ! " 

The lamp even is not bright. 

My bed is cold as ice. 

M 



1 62 The Jade Chap let. 

I bade my maid light a fire in the stove by my side. 
The fire- stove even is more warm than my lover, 
Yet that cannot answer like him when I speak. 



4- 
In the fourth watch, 
The moon was in the west. 

But I do not e'en know where 's the home of my lover. 
" You have plucked the fresh flower, 
Half open, half drooping. 
How long will it be ere the blossom will fade ? 
Since sixteen or seventeen, 
When I gave myself to you, 
Had I ever a thought in my heart but of you ? 
'Tis fully three years now since we 've been together, 
Yet when, day or night, was I faithless to you ? " 



5- 

In the fifth watch, 

The moon waned, 'twas broad daylight. 
Suddenly I heard a man's voice from without. 
I need no one to tell me, 'tis my lover arrived ! 



The Five Watches. 163 

With both hands I close my ears, 

And pretend I can't hear him. 

He calls out, " Quick, open the door ! 

I have but been out to study. 

If you open the door and allow me to enter, 

Till my death I can never your kindness repay. 

Ah, I call her, she gives me no answer ! 

She makes me stand here till my very calves ache. 

You, girl, are within — you kindly plead for me. 

If you will kindly intercede for me, 

I'll buy you some things as reward for your kindness. 

Scissors — steel needles — 

I'll buy half-a-pound of floss silk — 

Peking soap, too — 

Soo-chow handkerchiefs, 

To-day what I promise, to-morrow I'll buy. 

I don't lie in the least, nor am I a boaster." 

The two entered the chamber. 

Smelt the fragrant cassia blossoms. 

" I don't know where you 've been, 

Gossiping over your affairs. 

Women are like cassia flowers. 

Why do they throw themselves away on the men ? " 

Both continued to quarrel ; 



1 64 The Jade Chaplet. 

She, enraged, tore her clothing, 

The maid standing by, cried out, " Oh, Miss ! 

Tear up your own clothing ? 

And 'tis you that must make them ! 

Would it not be much better 

To give him a few gentle slaps with the hand ? " 

The youth knelt down before her — 

" Hear me make my confession ! 

From henceforth I'll try to break off this bad habit." 



i65 



THE DAGGER. 

Madam was in her own room all alone, 

With her heart very anxious and beating with dread, 

She called to her lover in a loud warning tone, 

" Pray don't come, my husband is aufait!" she said. 

Turr-r-r-iko-iko-i-ya ! 

Turr-r-r-iko-iko-i-ya ! 

Turr-i-ya ! l 
"My husband is an fait /" she said. 

"I had a good beating last night ('twas too bad) ; 
This morn, it was just about break of day, 
He ground up a bright glittering knife that he had ; 
He seeks but for vengeance, find you where he may. 

Turr-r-r, &c. 
But for vengeance, find you where he may. 

1 Imitating the sharpening of a knife on a grindstone. 



1 66 The Jade Chap let. 

" Your body is fragile, your strength is but slight ; 
In years but a youth, (How old can you be ?) 
Thus to lose your dear life. Is there safety in flight ? 
Ah, no, 'twould be hard from your sad fate to flee ! 

Turr-r-r, &c. 
Twould be hard from your sad fate to flee !" 

The lover exclaimed, " Dearest, did you ne'er hear 
How 'Huang-tsao of old, in the course of his life, 
Slew nearly eight millions of men ? I don't fear, 
To encounter the flash of the murderer's knife ! 

Turr-r-r, &c. 
The flash of the murderer's knife ! 

" Man may live to a hundred, but at last he must die. 
The tree becomes old, and its foliage fades. 
As 'tis so with them, so also must I 
Return back my life to the region of shades. 

Turr-r-r, &c. 
Be a ghost, but the most bewitching of shades." 



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